APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING CONTROLLABLE DEVICE IN PORTABLE TERMINAL

• US 20130113699A1
• Filed: 11/02/2012
• Published: 05/09/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/03/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Lim, Hun
• Granted Patent: US 9,939,853 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/156
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1694 the I/O peripheral being a single or a set of motion sensors for pointer control or gesture input obtained by sensing movements of the portable computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0486 Drag-and-drop
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus
• 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

Abstract

An apparatus and method control a controllable device in a portable terminal. The apparatus includes a device register unit, an input unit, a memory unit, a gesture detector, a controller, and a contents transmitter. The device register unit registers controllable devices to partial regions of an output screen. The input unit generates input data for controllable device registration or user'"'"'s input data for controllable device selection. The memory unit stores information of the controllable devices registered by the device register unit. The gesture detector senses a user'"'"'s input capable of determining direction. The controller detects a controllable device corresponding to the user'"'"'s input. The contents transmitter transmits contents to the controllable device detected by the controller.

Claims

1. An apparatus configured to control a controllable device in a portable terminal, the apparatus comprising:

a device register unit configured to register controllable devices to regions of an output screen;

an input unit configured to one of generate input data for controllable device registration and receive input data from a user for controllable device selection;

a memory unit configured to store information of the controllable devices registered by the device register unit;

a gesture detector configured to sense a direction of a user input;

a controller configured to detect a controllable device corresponding to the user input; and

a contents transmitter configured to transmit contents to the controllable device detected by the controller.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the device register unit is configured to search for controllable devices, output a list of the searched controllable devices, allocate controllable device register regions where the controllable devices will be registered in the output screen, and register the controllable devices to the controllable device register regions.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein, in response to registering the controllable devices, the device register unit is configured to acquire and store location information about the regions associated with the registered controllable devices.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, in response to sensing the user input, the controller is configured to output a list of the registered controllable devices.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to acquire location information of the portable terminal and detect controllable devices corresponding to the location information.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to detect communication states of the controllable devices and output the communication states of the controllable devices.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the gesture detector is configured to sense the direction of the user input capable using at least one of a drag-and-drop of contents, a flick of contents, and a gesture of a user holding the portable terminal.

8. A method for controlling a controllable device in a portable terminal, the method comprising:

registering controllable devices to regions of an output screen;

sensing a direction of a user input;

detecting a controllable device corresponding to the user input; and

transmitting contents to the detected controllable device.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein registering the controllable devices to the regions of the output screen comprises:

outputting a list of the searched controllable devices;

allocating controllable device register regions where the controllable devices will be registered in the output screen; and

registering the controllable devices to the controllable device register regions.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein registering the controllable devices to the regions of the output screen comprises:

in response to registering the controllable devices, acquiring and storing location information about the regions associated with the registered controllable devices.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein sensing the direction of the user input comprises:

in response to sensing the user input, outputting a list of the registered controllable devices.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein detecting the controllable device corresponding to the user input comprises:

acquiring location information of the portable terminal; and

detecting controllable devices corresponding to the location information of the portable terminal.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein detecting the controllable device corresponding to the user input comprises:

detecting communication states of the controllable devices; and

outputting the communication states of the controllable devices.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein the user input comprises at least one of a drag-and-drop of contents, a flick of contents, and a gesture of a user holding the portable terminal.

15. An electronic device comprising:

one or more processors configured to execute instructions of a computer program;

a memory configured to store data and instructions; and

one or more modules stored in the memory and constructed to be executed by the one or more processors,

wherein the one or more modules comprises instructions for registering controllable devices to regions of an output screen, sensing a direction of a user input, detecting a controllable device corresponding to the user input, and transmitting contents to the detected controllable device.

16. The electronic device of claim 15, wherein the instructions for registering the controllable devices to the regions of the output screen comprise instructions for:

outputting a list of the searched controllable devices;

allocating, controllable device register regions where the controllable devices will be registered in the output screen; and

registering the controllable devices to the controllable device register regions.

17. The electronic device of claim 15, wherein the instructions for registering the controllable devices to the partial regions of the output screen comprise instructions for:

in response to registering the controllable devices, acquiring and storing location information about the regions associated with the registered controllable devices.

18. The electronic device of claim 15, wherein the instructions for sensing the direction of the user input comprise instructions for:

in response to sensing the user input, outputting a list of the registered controllable devices.

19. The electronic device of claim 15, wherein the instructions for detecting the controllable device corresponding to the user input comprise instructions for:

acquiring location information of the portable terminal; and

detecting controllable devices corresponding to the location information of the portable terminal.

20. The electronic device of claim 15, wherein the instructions for detecting the controllable device corresponding to the user input comprise instructions for:

detecting communication states of the controllable devices; and

outputting the communication states of the controllable devices.