Method for swapping sink device and apparatus for providing contents using the same

• US 8,589,988 B2
• Filed: 11/16/2010
• Issued: 11/19/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/05/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Lee, Jeong-hun
• Primary Examiner(s): Goodarzi, Nasser
• Assistant Examiner(s): GRAHAM, PAUL J
• Application Number:
  US12/947,448
• Publication Number:
  US 20110164180A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,099 Days
• Field of Search: 725/74, 348/521, 348/E05.011
• US Class Current: 725/74
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1423 controlling a plurality of local displays, e.g. CRT and flat panel display
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2320/08 Arrangements within a display terminal for setting, manually or automatically, display parameters of the display terminal
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2330/02 Details of power systems and of start or stop of display operation
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/04 Exchange of auxiliary data, i.e. other than image data, between monitor and graphics controller
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/003 Details of a display terminal, the details relating to the control arrangement of the display terminal and to the interfaces thereto specific for a CRT G09G1/165; for a flat panel G09G3/2092
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2143 located in a single building, e.g. hotel, hospital or museum arrangements specially adapted for plural spots in a confined site in broadcast systems H04H20/63; adaptations for transmission by electric cable for domestic distribution in television systems H04N7/106
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2383 Channel coding or modulation of digital bit-stream, e.g. QPSK modulation arrangements for detecting or preventing errors in the information received by adapting the channel coding H04L1/0009; analogue front ends or means for connecting modulators, demodulators or transceivers to a transmission line H04L27/0002
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4333 Processing operations in response to a pause request
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4382 Demodulation or channel decoding, e.g. QPSK demodulation analog front ends or means for connecting modulators, demodulators or transceivers to a transmission line H04L27/0002

Abstract

A method for converting a sink device and an apparatus for providing a content using the same are provided. The method for converting the sink device includes receiving a sink device conversion command from a first sink device, transmitting the content to a second sink device if a conversion approval of the sink device is received from the second sink device, and transmitting a control authority related to a content provision from the first sink device to the second sink device.

Claims

1. A sink device swapping method of a plurality of sink devices, each of which is capable of outputting a content transmitted from a source device, the method comprising:

the source device receiving a sink device recipient swapping command from a first sink device which receives contents provided from the source device;

the source device receiving a sink device recipient swapping approval from a predetermined second sink device;

suspending the transmission of the content to the first sink device after the receiving operation that indicates swapping approval,

transmitting the content to the predetermined second sink device;

transmitting a control authority related to a content provision from the first sink device to the second sink device;

transmitting a turn-off request to the first sink device after the suspending operation, wherein the turn-off request relates to automatically turning off power to the first sink device; and

transmitting a turn-on request to the second sink device after the receiving operation, wherein the turn-on request relates to automatically turning on power to the second sink device.

2. The sink device swapping method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transmitting includes transmitting the content after the transmission is suspended in the suspending operation.

3. The sink device swapping method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sink device recipient swapping command is a command which makes the source device swap from the first sink device to the second sink device and transmit the content to the second sink device.

4. The sink device swapping method according to claim 1, wherein the source device is a content-play device which plays contents including at least one of a video signal and an audio signal, and the plurality of sink devices comprise a video device and an audio device,

wherein the transmitting the content comprises separating the content into a video signal and an audio signal;

transmitting the video signal into the video device; and

transmitting the audio signal into the audio device.

5. A content-providing apparatus which transmits data to a sink device which is capable of outputting a content comprising:

a communication interface which enables communication between said content providing apparatus and at least a first sink device and a second sink device, each of which is capable of outputting a content; and

a control unit which receives a sink device recipient swapping command from the first sink device which receives contents provided from the source device through the communication interface, receives a sink device recipient swapping approval from the predetermined second sink device,

suspends content transmission to the first sink device if the sink device recipient swapping command is received from the first sink device,

transmits the content to the predetermined second sink device through the communication interface and transfers a control authority related to a content provision from the first sink device to the second sink device,

wherein the control unit transmits a turn-off request to the first sink device through the communication interface after suspending the content transmission to the first sink device, wherein the turn-off request relates to automatically turning off power to the first sink device, and

wherein the control unit transmits a turn-on request to the second sink device through the communication interface if the sink device recipient swapping command is received from the first sink device, wherein the turn-on request relates to automatically turning on power to the second sink device.

6. The content-providing apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the control unit transmits the content to the second sink device through the communication interface, after the transmission was suspended.

7. The content-providing apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the sink device recipient swapping command is a command which makes the content-providing apparatus swap from the first sink device to the second sink device and transmit the content to the second sink device.

8. The content-providing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the content includes at least one of a video signal and an audio signal, the second sink device includes a video device and an audio device, and the control unit transmits the video signal separated from the content to the video device through the communication interface and transmits the audio signal to the audio device through the communication interface.