CONTROLLING BRIGHTNESS OF LIGHT SOURCES USED FOR DATA TRANSMISSION

• US 20110135317A1
• Filed: 04/06/2010
• Published: 06/09/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/03/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: CHAPLIN, Clint F.
• Granted Patent: US 8,798,479 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 398/172
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/1149 Arrangements for indoor wireless networking of information
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/116 Visible light communication

Abstract

In a first embodiment of the present invention, a method is provided comprising: receiving a selection of a desired brightness level of a light source; receiving a piece of data to be transmitted via visible light communication using the light source; selecting a duty cycle, described by an encoding scheme, based on the desired brightness level; encoding the data using the encoding scheme, wherein the encoding includes identifying a code corresponding to both the piece of data and the selected duty cycle; and transmitting the identified code via visible light communication using the light source.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a selection of a desired brightness level of a light source;

receiving a piece of data to be transmitted via visible light communication using the light source;

selecting a duty cycle, described by an encoding scheme, based on the desired brightness level;

encoding the data using the encoding scheme, wherein the encoding includes identifying a code corresponding to both the piece of data and the selected duty cycle; and

transmitting the identified code via visible light communication using the light source.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the selecting a duty cycle includes:

identifying a duty cycle described by the encoding scheme that is closest to the desired brightness level.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the selecting includes, if the desired brightness level is between two duty cycles described by the encoding scheme, selecting a first of the two duty cycles for encoding the piece of data and subsequently selecting a second of the two duty cycles for a subsequent piece of data to be transmitted via visible light communication using the light source, resulting in an overall duty cycle across multiple pieces of data equivalent to the desired brightness level.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the selecting includes, if the desired brightness level is lower than the lowest duty cycle described by the encoding scheme, selecting the lowest duty cycle described by the encoding scheme and then, following the transmission of the identified code via visible light communication using the light source, transmitting additional light frames at zero brightness, resulting in an overall duty cycle across multiple pieces of data equivalent to the desired brightness level.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the selecting includes, if the desired brightness level is higher than the highest duty cycle described by the encoding scheme, selecting the highest duty cycle described by the encoding scheme and then, following the transmission of the identified code via visible light communication using the light source, transmitting additional light frames at full brightness, resulting in an overall duty cycle across multiple pieces of data equivalent to the desired brightness level.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting additional data through the selection of the duty cycle itself.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting codes corresponding to synchronization signals in order to permit synchronization between the light source and a receiver.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the codes corresponding to synchronization signals are high frequency codes.

9. A method comprising:

receiving a transmitted code via visible light communication from a light source; and

decoding the transmitted code using a translation table, wherein the translation table indicates raw data corresponding to the transmitted code as well as a duty cycle corresponding to the transmitted code.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the decoded duty cycle indicates data in addition to the decoded raw data.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

retransmitting the transmitted code using another light source.

12. An apparatus comprising:

a light source; and

a light source controller, wherein the light source controller is configured to;

receive a selection of a desired brightness level of a light source;

receive a piece of data to be transmitted via visible light communication using the light source;

select a duty cycle, described by an encoding scheme, based on the desired brightness level;

encode the data using the encoding scheme, wherein the encoding includes identifying a code corresponding to both the piece of data and the selected duty cycle; and

transmit the identified code via visible light communication using the light source.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, further comprising a memory storing the encoding scheme.

14. An apparatus comprising:

a light receiver configured to receive a transmitted code via visible light communication from a light source; and

a decoding engine configured to decode the transmitted code using a translation table, wherein the translation table indicates raw data corresponding to the transmitted code as well as a duty cycle corresponding to the transmitted code.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the light receiver in itself is a light source.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising a light source configured to retransmit the transmitted code.

17. An apparatus comprising:

means for receiving a selection of a desired brightness level of a light source;

means for receiving a piece of data to be transmitted via visible light communication using the light source;

means for selecting a duty cycle, described by an encoding scheme, based on the desired brightness level;

means for encoding the data using the encoding scheme, wherein the encoding includes identifying a code corresponding to both the piece of data and the selected duty cycle; and

means for transmitting the identified code via visible light communication using the light source.

18. An apparatus comprising:

means for receiving a transmitted code via visible light communication from a light source; and

means for decoding the transmitted code using a translation table, wherein the translation table indicates raw data corresponding to the transmitted code as well as a duty cycle corresponding to the transmitted code.

19. A program storage device readable by a machine tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform a method comprising:

receiving a selection of a desired brightness level of a light source;

receiving a piece of data to be transmitted via visible light communication using the light source;

selecting a duty cycle, described by an encoding scheme, based on the desired brightness level;

encoding the data using the encoding scheme, wherein the encoding includes identifying a code corresponding to both the piece of data and the selected duty cycle; and

transmitting the identified code via visible light communication using the light source.

20. A program storage device readable by a machine tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform a method comprising:

receiving a transmitted code via visible light communication from a light source; and

decoding the transmitted code using a translation table, wherein the translation table indicates raw data corresponding to the transmitted code as well as a duty cycle corresponding to the transmitted code.