Egalitarian Control Apparatus and Method for Sharing Information in a Collaborative Workspace

• US 20140040781A1
• Filed: 10/14/2013
• Published: 02/06/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/13/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Steelcase Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Steelcase Incorporated
• Inventors: Epstein, Lewis
• Granted Patent: US 10,631,632 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/753
• CPC Class Codes: A47B 13/08 Table tops; Rims therefor not restricted to table tops A47B95/04
• CPC Class Codes: A47B 2021/066 with power or communication connection interface
• CPC Class Codes: A47B 2083/003 Table combination having a central power access component
• CPC Class Codes: A47B 2083/006 having an incorporated display screen
• CPC Class Codes: A47B 21/00 Tables or desks for office equipment, e.g. typewriters, keyboards
• CPC Class Codes: A47B 21/06 characterised by means for holding, fastening or concealing cables
• CPC Class Codes: A47B 83/001 Office desks or work-stations combined with other pieces of furniture, e.g. work space management systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1632 External expansion units, e.g. docking stations
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1647 including at least an additional display G06F1/1692 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04803 Split screen, i.e. subdividing the display area or the window area into separate subareas
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1423 controlling a plurality of local displays, e.g. CRT and flat panel display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1446 display composed of modules, e.g. video walls
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/147 using display panels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/16 Use of wireless transmission of display information
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/20 Details of the management of multiple sources of image data
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/22 Detection of presence or absence of input display information or of connection or disconnection of a corresponding information source
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/12 Synchronisation between the display unit and other units, e.g. other display units, video-disc players
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/14 Display of multiple viewports
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/268 Signal distribution or switching
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/64 : Constructional details of receivers, e.g. cabinets or dust covers furniture aspects of television cabinets A47B81/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/66 : Transforming electric information into light information scanning details H04N3/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/104 : Switchers or splitters
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/142 : Constructional details of the terminal equipment, e.g. arrangements of the camera and the display
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/147 : Communication arrangements, e.g. identifying the communication as a video-communication, intermediate storage of the signals selecting H04Q
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/15 : Conference systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/183 : for receiving images from a single remote source

Abstract

A method and system of selecting information from video sources to be displayed on at least a subset of a plurality of display screen presentation spaces, the method comprising the steps of providing at least first and second independent selectable control interfaces, each interface including a separately selectable control uniquely associated with each of the display screen presentation spaces, uniquely associating first and second video sources with the first and second control interfaces, for each control interface, receiving an indication each time one of the selectable controls is selected and, upon receiving an indication, providing the video source associated with the control interface used to make the selection to the display screen presentation space associated with the selected selectable control.

Claims

1. A method of selecting information from video sources to be displayed on at least a subset of a plurality of display screen presentation spaces in a collaborative workspace having a switching device, the method comprising the steps of:

providing at least first and second independent selectable control interfaces, each interface including a separately selectable control uniquely associated with each of the display screen presentation spaces;

uniquely associating first and second video sources with the first and second control interfaces, respectively;

for each control interface, receiving an indication each time one of the selectable controls is selected; and

upon receiving an indication that one of the selectable controls has been selected via one of the control interfaces, providing the video source associated with the control interface used to make the selection to the display screen presentation space associated with the selected selectable control so that the video source generates images on the display screen presentation space.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein step of providing control interfaces includes providing the first and second control interfaces on display screens of first and second computing devices, respectively, and wherein the first and second video sources generate images on the display screens of the first and second control interfaces, respectively.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein, upon receiving an indication that one of the selectable controls has been selected via one of the control interfaces, the images generated on the selected display screen presentation space mirror the images generated by the video source on the display screen of the control interface used to make the selection.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein the first and second control interfaces are provided along edges of the display screens of the first and second computing devices, respectively, so that the images generated by the video sources are substantially unobstructed by the control interfaces.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein the plurality of display screen presentation spaces are arranged relative to each other and, wherein, the selectable controls are arranged relative to each other in a fashion which mimics the arrangement of the plurality of display screen presentation spaces.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the plurality of display screen presentation spaces include four separate presentation spaces and wherein each of the control interfaces includes four selectable controls, a separate selectable control for each of the four separate display screen presentation spaces.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein each of the display screen presentation spaces is provided by a separate display screen.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the separate display screens are arranged relative to each other, each of the separate control interfaces is provided on a display screen of a separate computing device and, wherein, the selectable controls are arranged relative to each other on each of the computing device display screens in a pattern that mirrors the arrangement of the plurality of display screens.

9. The method of claim 1 further including the steps of, while the first video source is provided to one of the display screen presentation spaces, receiving an indication that the control on the first control interface associated with the one of the display screen presentation spaces has been selected and, upon receiving the indication that the control on the first control interface associated with the one of the display screen presentation spaces has been selected while the first video source is provided to the one of the display screen presentation spaces, disconnecting the first video source from the one of the display screen presentation spaces.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein a separate indicator is associated with each of the selectable controls, the method further including the step of modifying the appearance of an indicator upon selection of a selectable control associated with the indicator.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein each of the indicators is capable of indicating each of three different states, the method further including the steps of causing an indicator to indicate a first state when no video source is associated with a corresponding control interface, a second state while a video source is associated with a corresponding control interface and while the associated selectable control remains unselected and a third state while a video source is associated with a corresponding control interface and while the video source is provided to the display screen presentation space associated with the selectable control that is associated with the indicator.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the first and second control interfaces are provided on display screens of first and second portable computing devices, respectively, the step of providing first and second control interfaces including, for each of the first and second portable computing devices, moving the computing device into the workspace, associating the computing device with the workspace, identifying the number of display screen presentation spaces associated with the workspace and generating a control interface with a separate selectable control for each of the identified number of display screen presentation spaces.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein, each time an additional portable computing device is moved into the workspace, the method includes the step of providing a control interface for the display screen presentation spaces associated with the workspace on a display screen of the additional portable computing device.

14. A method of selecting information from video sources to be displayed on at least a subset of a plurality of display screen presentation spaces in a collaborative workspace, the method for use with a plurality of portable computing devices, each computing device having a computing device display screen, each computing device providing a separate video source that presents images on the display screen of the computing device, the method comprising the steps of:

on each display screen of the plurality of portable computing devices, providing a control interface in addition to images from the video source provided by the computing device, each control interface including a separately selectable control uniquely associated with each of the display screen presentation spaces;

for each control interface, receiving an indication each time one of the selectable controls is selected; and

upon receiving an indication that one of the selectable controls has been selected, providing the video source provided by the portable computing device used to make the selection to the display screen presentation space associated with the selected selectable control so that the video source generates images on the display screen presentation space.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the control interfaces are provided along edges of the computing device display screens so that the images generated by the video sources on the computing device display screens are substantially unobstructed by the control interfaces.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein the plurality of display screen presentation spaces are arranged relative to each other and, wherein, the selectable controls on each control interface are arranged relative to each other in a fashion which mimics the arrangement of the plurality of display screen presentation spaces.

17. The method of claim 14 wherein each of the portable computing devices is associated with a different device user and wherein each of the controls indicates the identity of a user associated with the portable computing device currently driving a display screen presentation space associated with the control.

18. The method of claim 14 wherein each of the portable computing devices is associated with a different device user and wherein each of the display presentation spaces, in addition to presenting images from an associated video source, indicates the identity of a user associated with the portable computing device currently driving the display screen presentation space.

19. The method of claim 14 wherein the plurality of display screen presentation spaces includes at least first and second presentation space subsets that are spaced apart within the workspace, each control interface including first and second sets of selectable controls spaced apart on the display screen of an associated portable computing device to mimic the arrangement of the display screen presentation spaces within the workspace.

20. A system for selecting information from video sources to be displayed on at least a subset of a plurality of display screen presentation spaces in a collaborative workspace, the system for use with a plurality of portable computing devices, each computing device having a computing device display screen, each computing device providing a separate video source that presents images on the display screen of the computing device, the system comprising:

providing a processor programmed to perform the steps of;

on each display screen of the plurality of portable computing devices, providing a control interface in addition to images from the video source provided by the computing device, each control interface including a separately selectable control uniquely associated with each of the display screen presentation spaces;

for each control interface, receiving an indication each time one of the selectable controls is selected; and

upon receiving an indication that one of the selectable controls has been selected, providing the video source provided by the portable computing device used to make the selection to the display screen presentation space associated with the selected selectable control so that the video source generates images on the display screen presentation space.