Method and apparatus for real-time sharing of multimedia content between wireless devices

• US 9,226,137 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2013
• Issued: 12/29/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2013
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Anantharaman, Subramanian, Ramachandran, Ponmudi, Ardhanari, Sivakumar, Moorthy, Mahesh
• Primary Examiner(s): WON, MICHAEL YOUNG
• Application Number:
  US14/042,217
• Publication Number:
  US 20150095419A1
• Time in Patent Office: 820 Days
• Field of Search: 709/216, 709/224, 709/228, 709/231, 709/232, 709/236, 709/248
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1069 Session establishment or de-establishment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/762 at the source reformatting of additional data in video distribution servers H04N21/2355
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/565 Conversion or adaptation of application format or content adding application control or application functional data H04L67/561
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/75 Indicating network or usage conditions on the user display
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4108 characterised by an identification number or address, e.g. local network address protecting specific internal or external computer components using identification number G06F21/73; network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming H04L61/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4131 home appliance, e.g. lighting, air conditioning system, metering devices home automation data switching networks exchanging configuration information on appliance services H04L12/2807
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43615 Interfacing a Home Network, e.g. for connecting the client to a plurality of peripherals home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] data switching networks H04L12/2805
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/43637 involving a wireless protocol, e.g. Bluetooth, RF or wireless LAN [IEEE 802.11] arrangements for wireless networking or broadcasting of information in indoor or near-field type systems H04B10/114
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44227 Monitoring of local network, e.g. connection or bandwidth variations; Detecting new devices in the local network configuring of peripheral devices in general G06F9/4411; monitoring connectivity in data switched networks H04L43/0811
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4622 Retrieving content or additional data from different sources, e.g. from a broadcast channel and the Internet web site content organization and management for information retrieval from the Internet G06F16/958; transmission by internet of broadcast information H04H60/82; stock exchange data over packet-switching network H04L12/1804; push services including data channel over packet-switching network H04L12/1859
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4728 for selecting a Region Of Interest [ROI], e.g. for requesting a higher resolution version of a selected region
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/24 Transfer of terminal data

Abstract

The disclosure relates to sharing real-time multimedia content. The method may include identifying an application for sharing by a first device, discovering one or more second devices by the first device, independent of a technology or a platform of the devices, applying communication protocols and creating an association between the first device and the one or more second devices, and determining multimedia capabilities of the one or more second devices. Furthermore, such an example method may include selecting at least a portion of the screen of a first device for sharing based at least on the determined multimedia capabilities of the second devices, computing application associated performance parameters based at least on a type of content and transmitting the selected portion of the screen of the first device to the one or more second devices over the wireless connection.

Claims

1. A method for sharing multimedia content between wireless devices in real-time over a wireless connection, comprising:

identifying an application for sharing by a first device;

discovering one or more second devices by the first device;

applying communication protocols for communicating with the one or more second devices and creating an association between the first device and the one or more second devices;

determining multimedia capabilities of the one or more second devices;

selecting content being rendered on a portion of a screen of the first device for sharing with the one or more second devices based at least on the determined multimedia capabilities of the one or more second devices by receiving a selection of the portion of the screen of the first device;

computing application associated performance parameters by the first device, wherein the application associated performance parameters are computed by the first device based at least on a type of content identified for sharing by the application on the first device and the determined multimedia capabilities of the one or more second devices, wherein the application associated performance parameters computed by the first device include quality of service (QoS) values for the one or more second devices; and

transmitting the selected portion of the screen of the first device to the one or more second devices over the wireless connection.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more second devices comprise a thin client.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

configuring access privileges for the one or more second devices by the first device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving comprises:

receiving the selection of the portion of the screen to be shared based on a selection by a marking device, a pointing device or a touch gesture.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

dynamically updating the QoS values for the one or more second devices based on the type of content shared by the first device.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

configuring access privileges for the one or more second devices by the first device.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless connection is a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi), cellular, or a Bluetooth connection.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

dynamically selecting the wireless connection based on available bandwidth.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing information associated with the one or more second devices in a database on the first device, wherein the stored information includes media access control (MAC) address of the one or more second devices.

37. The method of claim 1, wherein the discovering of the one or more second devices by the first device is independent of a technology or a platform of the one or more second devices.

10. An apparatus for sharing multimedia content between wireless devices in real-time over a wireless connection, comprising:

means for identifying an application for sharing by a first device;

means for discovering one or more second devices by the first device;

means for applying communication protocols for communicating with the one or more second devices and creating an association between the first device and the one or more second devices;

means for determining multimedia capabilities of the one or more second devices;

means for selecting content being rendered on a portion of a screen of the first device for sharing with the one or more second devices based at least on the determined multimedia capabilities of the one or more second devices by receiving a selection of the portion of the screen of the first device;

means for computing application associated performance parameters by the first device, wherein the application associated performance parameters are computed by the first device based at least on a type of content identified for sharing by the application on the first device and the determined multimedia capabilities of the one or more second devices, wherein the application associated performance parameters computed by the first device include quality of service (QoS) values for the one or more second devices; and

means for transmitting the selected portion of the screen of the first device to the one or more second devices over the wireless connection.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the one or more second devices comprise a thin client.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising:

means for configuring access privileges for the one or more second devices by the first device.

13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the means for receiving further comprises:

means for receiving the selection of the portion of the screen to be shared based on a selection by a marking device, a pointing device or a touch gesture.

14. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising:

means for dynamically updating the QoS values for the one or more second devices based on the type of content shared by the first device.

15. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising:

means for configuring access privileges for the one or more second devices by the first device.

16. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the wireless connection is a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi), cellular, or a Bluetooth connection.

17. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising:

means for dynamically selecting the wireless connection based on available bandwidth.

18. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising:

means for storing information associated with the one or more second devices in a database on the first device, wherein the stored information includes media access control (MAC) address of the one or more second devices.

38. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the discovering of the one or more second devices by the first device is independent of a technology or a platform of the one or more second devices.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium for sharing multimedia content between wireless devices in real-time over a wireless connection, comprising:

at least one instruction for identifying an application for sharing by a first device;

at least one instruction for discovering one or more second devices by the first device;

at least one instruction for applying communication protocols for communicating with the one or more second devices and creating an association between the first device and the one or more second devices;

at least one instruction for determining multimedia capabilities of the one or more second devices;

at least one instruction for selecting content being rendered on a portion of a screen of the first device for sharing with the one or more second devices based at least on the determined multimedia capabilities of the one or more second devices by receiving a selection of the portion of the screen of the first device;

at least one instruction for computing application associated performance parameters by the first device, wherein the application associated performance parameters are computed by the first device based at least on a type of content identified for sharing by the application on the first device and the determined multimedia capabilities of the one or more second devices, wherein the application associated performance parameters computed by the first device include quality of service (QoS) values for the one or more second devices; and

at least one instruction for transmitting the selected portion of the screen of the first device to the one or more second devices over the wireless connection.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the one or more second devices comprise a thin client.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, further comprising:

at least one instruction for configuring access privileges for the one or more second devices by the first device.

22. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the at least one instruction for receiving comprises:

at least one instruction for receiving the selection of the portion of the screen to be shared based on a selection by a marking device, a pointing device or a touch gesture.

23. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, further comprising:

at least one instruction for dynamically updating the QoS values for the one or more second devices based on the type of content shared by the first device.

24. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, further comprising:

at least one instruction for configuring access privileges for the one or more second devices by the first device.

25. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the wireless connection is a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi), cellular, or a Bluetooth connection.

26. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, further comprising:

at least one instruction for dynamically selecting the wireless connection based on available bandwidth.

27. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, further comprising:

at least one instruction for storing information associated with the one or more second devices in a database on the first device, wherein the stored information includes media access control (MAC) address of the one or more second devices.

39. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the discovering of the one or more second devices by the first device is independent of a technology or a platform of the one or more second devices.

28. An apparatus for sharing multimedia content between wireless devices in real-time over a wireless connection, comprising:

an application identifying component configured to identify an application for sharing by a first device;

a device discovering component configured to discover one or more second devices by the first device;

a communication protocol component configured to apply communication protocols for communicating with the one or more second devices and creating an association between the first device and the one or more second devices;

a multimedia capability determining component configured to determine multimedia capabilities of the one or more second devices;

a content selection component configured to select content being rendered on a portion of a screen of the first device for sharing with the one or more second devices based at least on the determined multimedia capabilities of the one or more second devices by receiving a selection of the portion of the screen of the first device;

an application performance component configured to compute application associated performance parameters by the first device, wherein the application associated performance parameters are computed by the first device based at least on a type of content identified for sharing by the application on the first device and the determined multimedia capabilities of the one or more second devices, wherein the application associated performance parameters computed by the first device include quality of service (QoS) values for the one or more second devices; and

a content transmitting component configured to transmit the selected portion of the screen of the first device to the one or more second devices over the wireless connection.

29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the one or more second devices comprise a thin client.

30. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the apparatus is further configured to configure access privileges for the one or more second devices by the first device.

31. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the content selection component being configured to select comprises the content selection component being configured to receive the selection of the portion of the screen to be shared based on a selection by a marking device, a pointing device or a touch gesture.

32. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the apparatus is further configured to dynamically update the QoS values for the one or more second devices based on the type of content shared by the first device.

33. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the apparatus is further configured to configure access privileges for the one or more second devices by the first device.

34. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the wireless connection is a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi), cellular, or a Bluetooth connection.

35. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the apparatus is further configured to dynamically select the wireless connection based on available bandwidth.

36. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the apparatus is further configured to store information associated with the one or more second devices in a database on the first device, wherein the stored information includes media access control (MAC) address of the one or more second devices.

40. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the discovering of the one or more second devices by the first device is independent of a technology or a platform of the one or more second devices.