System and method for a redundant multi-panel electronic display

Abstract

A system and method for redundant multi-panel display is provided. A first system control board is electrically connected to the first electronic display and a first video player. A second system control board is electrically connected to the second electronic display, the first video player, and a second video player. The second system control board is configured to begin utilizing the first video player upon failure of the second video player. Order information is received from a point of sale data output and transmitted to at least one of the first system control board and the second system control board. The first and second video players are configured to cause background images to blended with the order information and displayed on the respective electronic display.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments generally relate to electronic displays used for advertising and point of sale applications.

BACKGROUND OF THE ART

Large electronic display assemblies have traditionally used an array of multiple separate electronic displays, each having their own video driver, timing and control board, as well as other electronics necessary to operate each display. A border or bezel is generally placed between each separate display in order to secure each display into the overall assembly. In some cases, a single monolithic display is used to provide a number of separately-controlled areas which can contain a mixture of advertising images/video as well as menu information.

SUMMARY OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

The exemplary embodiments herein provide a system and method for blending order confirmation data with background image data in order to provide order confirmation to a customer without having to use display space for order confirmation on its own. A number of image blending techniques can be used with the embodiments herein.

The foregoing and other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following more detailed description of the particular embodiments, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A better understanding of an exemplary embodiment will be obtained from a reading of the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings wherein identical reference characters refer to identical parts and in which:

FIG. 1A is a simplified bock diagram of one embodiment of the system control board.

FIG. 1B is a simplified bock diagram of one embodiment of the image blending system.

FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram of a second embodiment of the image blending system.

FIG. 3 is a simplified block diagram of a third embodiment of the image blending system.

FIG. 4 is a logical flowchart for an exemplary embodiment for operating the processor of the system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention is described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the exemplary embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, the size and relative sizes of layers and regions may be exaggerated for clarity.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

Embodiments of the invention are described herein with reference to illustrations that are schematic illustrations of idealized embodiments (and intermediate structures) of the invention. As such, variations from the shapes of the illustrations as a result, for example, of manufacturing techniques and/or tolerances, are to be expected. Thus, embodiments of the invention should not be construed as limited to the particular shapes of regions illustrated herein but are to include deviations in shapes that result, for example, from manufacturing.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

Initially it should be noted that one of ordinary skill in the art understands that electronic displays as described herein are capable of displaying both still images as well as videos. Thus, for brevity in this application the term ‘image’ will be used to represent both still images as well as full motion video.

FIG. 1A is a simplified bock diagram of one embodiment of the system control board 101. In an exemplary embodiment, the system control board 101 can contain several electronic components, including but not limited to: electronic storage device 50 and a processor 60.

FIG. 1B is a simplified bock diagram of one embodiment of the image blending system. In this embodiment, three separate displays 10, 20, and 30 are placed in a 1×3 array and contained within a housing that places a portion of the bezel 12 in between each display. Display 10 is in electronic communication with a timing and control (TCON) board 102a, system control board 101a, and a video player 103a. Similarly, display 20 is in electronic communication with a timing and control (TCON) board 102b, system control board 101b, and a video player 103b. Finally, display 30 is in electronic communication with a timing and control (TCON) board 102c, system control board 101c, and a video player 103c.

In the specific embodiment shown in FIG. 1B, each video player 103a-103c contains two video outputs and is capable of driving two displays simultaneously. In this way, video player 103a is in electrical communication with system control boards 101a and 101b. Similarly, video player 103b is in electrical communication with system control boards 101b and 101c. Finally, video player 103c is in electrical communication with system control boards 101c and 101a. During normal operations, each video player 103 would drive only a single display at a time. However, when the system control board 101 detects a failure in any one of the video players 103, the corresponding redundant video player 103 could be used to drive the display that in communication with the failed video player. For example, if system control board 101b detects a failure in video player 103b, the failed video player may be turned off (or perhaps rebooted) while video player 103a takes over communication with system control board 101b.

Generally speaking, the video data for displaying on display 10 is transmitted from video player 103a and this data can comprise the background image 120, which can be an image that is contained completely within display 10 or can be blended between two or more displays (as shown, blended between display 10 and display 20). In this exemplary embodiment, a point of sale (POS) data output 70 provides information from the establishment's POS system to indicate if an order has been placed, and the information regarding items ordered and the amount owed. Each application may want different types of order confirmation data shown and provided in different types of illustrations, but generally the confirmation would include any one of the following types of information: types of items ordered, quantities, of items ordered, sub-total, taxes owed, and total amount owed.

The system control board 101a may receive the order confirmation data from the POS data output 70 through either a wired or wireless connection. The system control board 101a may then direct the video player 103a to perform any number of image blending techniques in order to incorporate the order confirmation data into the background image data. Exemplary image blending techniques include alpha compositing or alpha blending. In some embodiments, the order confirmation image 200 is provided as transparent or semi-transparent over the background image 120. In other embodiments, the order confirmation image 200 is opaque and is simply shown in front of the background image 120.

FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram of a second embodiment of the image blending system. Here, a single monolithic display 110 is contained within a housing. The assembly lacks the bezels which would need to be placed between each display. The display 110 can be driven in separately controllable areas 100a-100f, where in this case each area is being driven to show a different image. This assembly only requires a single video player and TCON 102 in order to generate these different images within the areas 100a-100f. The display 110 is also preferably mounted on a pedestal 150 which attaches to the housing of the display 110.

This embodiment uses the POS data output 70, video player 103, system control board 101, and TCON 102 in a similar manner to what is described above. In this embodiment however, the order confirmation image 200 is blended by the video player 103 with a background advertising image within one or more of the separately controllable subsection 100b of the display 110.

FIG. 3 is a simplified block diagram of a third embodiment of the image blending system. This embodiment also uses the POS data output 70, video player 103, system control board 101, and TCON 102 in a similar manner to what is described above. In this embodiment however, the order confirmation image 220 is blended completely in front of the background advertising images within any one or more of separately controllable subsections 100a-100f of the display 110. Here, the order confirmation image 220 is contained within a separate window that appears preferably only when an order confirmation is made.

FIG. 4 is a logical flowchart for an exemplary embodiment for operating the processor 60 of the system. Initially, the processor 60 should receive the order confirmation data from the POS data output 70. The processor 60 should then preferably create an image that represents the received order confirmation data. Next, an exemplary processor 60 should direct the video player 103 to blend the order confirmation image with the background image. Finally, the processor should also direct the video player 103 to transmit the blended image data to the TCON 102 for eventual transmission to the display.

The electronic display 110 can be any flat panel electronic display including but not limited to: liquid crystal displays (LCD), organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays, plasma displays, and electroluminescent polymer displays.

Having shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention, those skilled in the art will realize that many variations and modifications may be made to affect the described invention and still be within the scope of the claimed invention. Additionally, many of the elements indicated above may be altered or replaced by different elements which will provide the same result and fall within the spirit of the claimed invention. It is the intention, therefore, to limit the invention only as indicated by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A redundant multi-panel display system comprising: a first electronic display;a first system control board electrically connected to the first electronic display;a first video player electrically connected to the first system control board;a second electronic display;a second system control board electrically connected to the second electronic display and the first video player;a second video player electrically connected to the second system control board; anda point of sale data output configured to receive order information and transmit it to at least one of the first system control board and the second system control board;wherein the second system control board is configured to begin utilizing the first video player upon failure of the second video player;wherein the first and second video players are configured to blend the background images with the order information and transmit the blended images to the respective electronic display for display on the respective electronic display.

2. The system of claim 1 further comprising: a first timing and control board electrically connected to the first system control board and the first electronic display; anda second timing and control board electrically connected to the second system control board and the second electronic display.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein: the first and second video players are configured to blend the order information with the background images through an alpha composting or an alpha blending process.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein: the alpha value is between 0 and 1.

5. The system of claim 2 wherein: the order information is blended completely in front of the background image data.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein: the first and second video players are configured to blend the order information with the background images such that the order information is visible atop of the background images and the background images are at least partially obscured by the order confirmation data.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein: the blended image is displayed entirely in one of the first and second electronic displays.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein: the order information is displayed in a separate window.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein: the separate window appears temporarily after the order information is received.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein: the background images comprise advertisements.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein: the order information comprises the names of each of the items ordered.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein: the order information further comprises the quantity of each of the items ordered, the price of each of the items ordered, and a total amount due.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein: the order information further comprises a subtotal and a tax amount due.

14. The system of claim 1 further comprising: a third electronic display;a third system control board electrically connected to the third electronic display and the second video player;a third timing and control board electrically connected to the third system control board and the third electronic display; anda third video player electrically connected to the third system control board and the first system control board;wherein the third system control board is configured to begin utilizing the second video player upon failure of the third video player; andwherein the first system control board is configured to begin utilizing the third video player upon failure of the first video player.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein: said first, second, and third electronic displays are located within a single housing.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein: said first, second, and third electronic displays are separated from one another by a bezel.

17. A redundant multi-panel display system comprising: a first electronic display;a second electronic display;a third electronic display;a first system control board electrically connected to the first electronic display;a first video player electrically connected to the first system control board;a second system control board electrically connected to the second electronic display and the first video player;a second video player electrically connected to the second system control board;a third system control board electrically connected to the third electronic display and the second video player;a third video player electrically connected to the third system control board and the first system control board; anda point of sale data output configured to receive order information and transmit the order information to at least one of the first system control board and the second system control board;wherein the first system control board is configured to begin utilizing the third video player upon failure of the first video player, the second system control board is configured to begin utilizing the first video player upon failure of the second video player, and the third system control board is configured to begin utilizing the second video player upon failure of the third video player.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein: said first, second, and third electronic displays are located within a single housing and are separated from one another by a bezel.

19. The system of claim 17 wherein: the first and second video players are configured to blend background images with order confirmation data and to display the blended image on the respective electronic display.

20. A method for providing redundant multi-panel display system comprising: providing a first, second, and third electronic display, a first system control board electrically connected to the first electronic display, a first video player electrically connected to the first system control board, a second system control board electrically connected to the second electronic display and the first video player, a second video player electrically connected to the second system control board, a third system control board electrically connected to the third electronic display and the second video player, a third video player in electrical connection with the third system control board and the first system control board, and a point of sale data output;transmitting the order information from the point of sale data output to the first system control board and the second system control board;blending the order information with background image data at the respective video player for display on the respective electronic display;operating the first electronic display with the first video player;operating the second electronic display with the second video player;operating the third electronic display with the third video player;upon failure of the first video player, operating the first electronic display utilizing the third video player;upon failure of the second video player, operating the second electronic display utilizing the first video player; andupon failure of the third video player, operating the third electronic display utilizing the second video player.