METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR INTERFACING BETWEEN DEVICES IN HOME NETWORK

• US 20090132923A1
• Filed: 10/28/2008
• Published: 05/21/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: HAN, Kuk-hyun, KIM, Dae-hyun, HAN, Sang-jun, KYUNG, Bo-hyun, KIM, Hark-joon, YANG, Pil-Seung, KIM, Bo-mi, CHOI, Myoung-soon
• Granted Patent: US 8,122,357 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/717
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/282 based on user interaction within the home receiver circuitry for displaying additional information being controlled by a remote control apparatus H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2827 Reporting to a device within the home network; wherein the reception of the information reported automatically triggers the execution of a home appliance functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2841 Wireless
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4126 The peripheral being portable, e.g. PDAs or mobile phones

Abstract

A method of interfacing between devices in a home network control device includes dividing a screen into at least two areas, assigning a predetermined contents service function to each of the divided screen areas, sensing the position of the screen that an external device approaches and the distance between the screen and the external device reproducing content, and performing the contents service function differently between devices for each screen area according to the position of the screen that the external device approaches and the distance between the screen and the external device.

Claims

1. A method of interfacing between devices coupled to a home network control device, the method comprising:

dividing a screen of the home network control device into at least two areas;

assigning a predetermined contents service function to each of the divided screen areas;

sensing a position of the screen that an external device approaches and a distance between the screen and the external device, wherein the external device reproduces a content; and

performing the contents service function between devices differently for each divided screen area according to the sensed position of the screen that the external device approaches and the sensed distance between the screen and the external device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the sensing comprises:

sensing a position of the screen area that the external device approaches; and

sensing a distance from the sensed screen area to the external device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the performing the contents service function comprises:

determining that the distance between the screen area and the external device at the position of the screen that the external device approaches is within a first predetermined distance; and

performing a first contents service function.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the performing the contents service function comprises:

determining that the distance between the screen area and the external device at the position of the screen that the external device approached is greater than a second predetermined distance; and

performing a second contents service function.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the performing the contents service function comprises:

performing different contents service functions according to the position of the screen area that the external device approaches.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the performing the contents service function comprises:

performing different contents service functions according to a contents reproduction state of the external device at the position of the screen area that the external device approaches.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein performing the contents service function comprises:

enlarging an image presented in the screen area when the distance between the screen area and the external device is within a predetermined distance.

8. A method of interfacing between devices connected to a home network control device, the method comprising:

sensing a position of a screen of the home network control device that an external device approaches and a distance between the screen and the external device, wherein the external device reproduces content;

displaying list information of the devices, which reproduce contents and are connected to the home network control device when a distance between the external device and the screen is within a first predetermined distance;

identifying a reproduction device at a closest position to the external device, which reproduction device is selected from the displayed list information; and

continuously reproducing content by sharing the content between the external device and the identified reproduction device when the distance between the external device and the screen becomes greater than a second predetermined distance.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the displaying the list information comprises:

enlarging an image presented in a screen area when the distance between the external device and the screen is within the first predetermined distance.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the identifying the reproduction device comprises:

highlighting the information of the identified reproduction device, from among the information of the devices displayed on the screen.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the identifying the reproduction device comprises:

displaying contents of the identified reproduction device on a screen of the external device.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

checking whether the external device is reproducing content when the distance between the external device and the screen is within the first predetermined distance;

when the mobile device is not reproducing the content, setting a seamless reproduction mode to continuously reproduce the content from the identified reproduction device to the external device; and

when the external device is reproducing the content, setting a seamless reproduction mode to continuously reproduce the content from the external device to the identified reproduction device.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein the continuously reproducing the content comprises:

continuously reproducing the content of the identified reproduction device at the external device.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein the continuously reproducing the content comprises:

continuously reproducing the content of the external device by the identified reproduction device.

15. A method of interfacing between devices coupled to a home network control device, the method comprising:

sensing a position of a screen of the home network control device that a mobile device approaches and a distance between the screen and the mobile device;

displaying a mark area of the mobile device at a position in a first area of the screen that the mobile device approaches,

receiving contents of the mobile device in the mark area when the distance between the screen and the mobile device is within a predetermined distance; and

transferring the contents of the mobile device to a device connected to the home network control device by dragging and dropping the contents from the mark area onto a position in a second area of the screen.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

transferring contents of the device connected to the home network control device by dragging and dropping the contents of the device onto the mark area.

17. A home network control device comprising:

a screen unit which displays information;

a sensor unit, installed at a particular position of the screen unit, which sensor unit senses a position of the screen unit that an external mobile device approaches, a distance between the screen unit and the approaching external mobile device and provides a measurement result;

a control unit which shares contents between the mobile device and a home device coupled to the home network control device by;

dividing a screen area of the screen unit into screen areas,

assigning a predetermined contents service function to each of the divided screen areas,

measuring the position of the screen unit that the external mobile device approaches and the distance between the mobile device and the screen unit based on the measurement result, and

determining a contents service function for each divided screen area according to the position of the screen unit that the external mobile device approaches and the distance between the mobile device and the screen; and

a network transceiving unit which performs wireless communication with the mobile device.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the network transceiving unit performs wireless communication between the mobile device and the control unit.

19. A computer readable recording medium having a program recorded thereon, which program, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to execute a method of interfacing between devices coupled to a home network control device, the method comprising:

dividing a screen area of the home network control device into at least two areas;

assigning a predetermined contents service function to each of the divided screen areas;

sensing a position of the screen that an external device approaches and a distance between the screen and the external device, wherein the external drive reproduces content; and

performing contents service function between devices differently for each divided screen area according to the position of the screen that the external device approaches and the distance between the screen and the external device.