Method of performing operation related to other device via near field communication and apparatus therefor

• US 9,461,710 B2
• Filed: 05/28/2014
• Issued: 10/04/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/09/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (Samsung Group)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (Samsung Group)
• Inventors: Park, Jeong-hun
• Primary Examiner(s): WEST, LEWIS G
• Application Number:
  US14/288,773
• Publication Number:
  US 20140273840A1
• Time in Patent Office: 860 Days
• Field of Search: 455/41.2, 455/41.3, 455/421, 455/456.1, 455/456.3
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/21 for calibration; for correcting measurements
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/318 Received signal strength
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/00 Near-field transmission systems, e.g. inductive or capacitive transmission systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/72 for local intradevice communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/40 for vehicles, e.g. vehicle-to-pedestrians [V2P]

Abstract

A method of performing an operation related to a second device, performed by a first device, via near field wireless communication, and an apparatus therefore. When a signal for wireless communication is received from the second device, the method includes calibrating the strength of the received signal; comparing the strength of the calibrated signal with operation signal information that is a result of calibrating a range of strengths of signals which are for the wireless communication and which are received from the second device moving between a plurality of points set to be within a predetermined distance from the first device; and as a result of the comparison, selectively performing the operation related to the second device.

Claims

1. A method of performing, by a first device, an operation related to a second device via near field wireless communication, the method comprising:

receiving by the first device, a signal transmitted by the second device within a communication enabled zone of the first device and the second device;

determining, by the first device, a strength of the signal received from the second device;

determining whether the second device enters an operation zone within the communication enabled zone based on a determination that the strength of the received signal satisfies a predetermined signal strength range; and

performing the operation related to the second device if the first device determines that the second device has entered the operation zone where the first device is set to perform the operation related to the second device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the operation related to the second device is pre-set in the first device and is automatically performed by the first device if the determined strength of the signal received from the second device by the first device is within a predetermined range of the strengths of the signals.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein a distance at which the operation is performed is set by the first device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the operation performed by the first device zone is determined by a type of the second device that has transmitted the signal to the first device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the signal for the wireless communication is a Bluetooth signal or a Wi-Fi signal.

6. A non-transitory computer readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program to execute the method of claim 1.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the strength of the received signal is stored by the first device as a sample.

16. The method of claim 7, wherein if a number of stored samples exceeds a certain amount, signal information of the first device stored at the second device is updated.

8. A first device to perform an operation related to a second device via near field wireless communication, the first device comprising:

a communication unit including a receiver to receive a signal for wireless communication transmitted from the second device within a communication enabled zone of the first device and the second device;

a calibration unit to determine a strength of the signal received from the second device;

a controller to determine, based on a determination that the strength of the received signal satisfies a predetermined signal strength range, whether the second device enters an operation zone within the communication enabled zone, and to perform the operation related to the second device if it is determined that the second device has entered the operation zone where the first device is set to perform the operation related to the second device.

9. The first device of claim 8, wherein the operation related to the second device is pre-set in the first device and is automatically performed by the first device if the determined strength of the signal received from the second device is within a predetermined range of the strengths of the signals.

10. The first device of claim 8, wherein a distance at which the operation is performed is set by the first device.

11. The first device of claim 8, wherein the operation performed by the first is determined by a type of the second device that has transmitted the signal to the first device.

12. The first device of claim 8, wherein the signal for the wireless communication is a Bluetooth signal or a Wi-Fi signal.

13. A method of performing a predetermined operation by a first device, the method comprising:

receiving, by the first device, a signal transmitted by a second device within a communication enabled zone of the first device and the second device;

determining, by the first device, a strength of the signal received from the second device;

determining whether the second device has entered an operation zone defined by a plurality of boundary points within the communication enabled zone based on a determination that the strength of the received signal satisfies a predetermined signal strength range; and

performing the predetermined operation if the first device determines that the second device has entered the operation zone where the first device is set to perform the predetermined operation.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

refraining from performing the predetermined operation when the second device is determined to be within the communication enabled zone and not in the operation zone.

15. A method of performing a predetermined operation in a first device, the method comprising:

detecting whether a second device has entered an operation zone defined by a plurality of boundary points, based on whether a strength of a signal received from the second device is within a predetermined range; and

performing a predetermined operation related to the second device when the second device is detected to be in the operation zone,

wherein the predetermined operation related to the second device is pre-set in the first device and is automatically performed by the first device when the first device detects that the second device has entered the operation zone, and

wherein the predetermined operation related to the second device comprises at least one of content reception/transmission, content output, and data synchronization,

wherein the detecting comprises;

calibrating the strength of the signal,

comparing the strength of the calibrated signal with operation signal information that is a result of calibrating a range of strengths of signals received from the second device while the second device is in the operation zone, and

determining whether the second device has entered the operation zone based on the result of the comparison.