Portable presentation system and methods for use therewith

• US 9,448,759 B2
• Filed: 08/16/2013
• Issued: 09/20/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/01/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Steelcase Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Steelcase Incorporated
• Inventors: Dunn, Michael H, Hutchinson, Ian G, Hildebrandt, Peter W
• Primary Examiner(s): Sheng, Tom
• Application Number:
  US13/968,945
• Publication Number:
  US 20130339888A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,131 Days
• Field of Search: 345/1.1, 345/2.1, 345/2.2, 345/3.1, 345/173, 345/174, 345/184
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0486 Drag-and-drop
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1454 involving copying of the display data of a local workstation or window to a remote workstation or window so that an actual copy of the data is displayed simultaneously on two or more displays, e.g. teledisplay
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 5/067 Combinations of audio and projected visual presentation, e.g. film, slides
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 5/08 providing for individual presentation of information to a plurality of student stations
• 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 3/002 to project the image of a two-dimensional display, such as an array of light emitting or modulating elements or a CRT
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1813 for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms instant messaging H04L51/04; protocols for multimedia communication H04L65/1101; arrangements for multi-party communication H04L65/403; telephonic conference arrangements H04M3/56; television conference systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1831 Tracking arrangements for later retrieval, e.g. recording contents, participants activities or behavior, network status
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/4015 where at least one of the additional parallel sessions is real time or time sensitive, e.g. white board sharing, collaboration or spawning of a subconference
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/75 Media network packet handling
• 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 9/3102 using two-dimensional electronic spatial light modulators micromechanical modulators as such G02B26/0833; liquid crystal modulators as such G02F1/13
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/3141 Constructional details thereof details not peculiar to the presence of an electronic spatial light modulator G03B21/14
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/3147 : Multi-projection systems displays in general H04N9/12; video walls G06F3/1446, G09G2300/026
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/3197 : using light modulating optical valves

Abstract

A method and assembly for sharing information in a conference space, the assembly comprising a display configuration including presentation surface area juxtaposed within the conference space for viewing by an audience, the surface area including at least first and second adjacent presentation sub-spaces, a processor programmed to perform the steps of presenting an interface on the surface area useable to generate session images within at least one of the sub-spaces, the interface including a panel section in which a separate panel icon for each of the session images created during a session is presented, the interface further including a separate space on the surface area associated with each of the sub-spaces, the interface facilitating selection and dragging of panel icons to locations associated with the sub-spaces to control the images presented in each of the sub-spaces, wherein, when a panel icon is dragged to a space, an image currently associated with the sub-space is replaced at the sub-space.

Claims

1. An assembly for sharing information in a conference space, the assembly comprising:

a large display configuration including presentation surface area juxtaposed within the conference space for viewing by an audience within the conference space, the presentation surface area including at least first and second adjacent presentation sub-spaces;

a processor linked to the large display assembly and programmed to perform the steps of;

presenting an interface on the presentation surface area useable to generate session images within at least one of the presentation sub-spaces, the interface including a panel section in which a separate panel icon for each of the session images created during a session is presented, the interface further including a separate space on the presentation surface area associated with each of the presentation sub-spaces, the interface facilitating selection and dragging of panel icons from locations within the panel section of the presentation surface area to locations associated with the presentation sub-spaces to control the images presented in each of the presentation sub-spaces, wherein, when a panel icon is dragged to a space associated with a presentation sub-space, an image currently associated with the presentation sub-space is replaced at the sub-space by the image associated with the panel icon.

2. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the image currently associated with the presentation sub-space and that is replaced by an image associated with the panel icon dragged to the presentation sub-space is a blank image.

3. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the space on the presentation surface area associated with the first of the presentation sub-spaces substantially comprises the presentation surface area.

4. The assembly of claim 3 wherein the space on the presentation surface area associated with at least a second of the presentation sub-spaces includes a slave representation area field that is independent of the second of the presentation sub-spaces.

5. The assembly of claim 4 wherein the slave representation area field includes separate spaces for each of a plurality of different presentation sub-spaces.

6. The assembly of claim 1 wherein panel icons that are associated with images presented via the presentation sub-spaces are visually distinguished from other panel icons.

7. The assembly of claim 1 wherein an image can be dragged between one of the presentation sub-spaces and another of the presentation sub-spaces to move the image from the one of the presentation subspaces to the another of the presentation sub-spaces.

8. The assembly of claim 7 wherein an image can be dragged between the another of the presentation sub-spaces and the one of the presentation sub-spaces to move the image form the another of the presentation subspaces to the one of the presentation sub-spaces.

9. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the presentation surface area includes at least a third presentation sub-space.

10. The assembly of claim 9 wherein the first, second and third presentation sub-spaces are arranged side by side to form a single row.

11. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the display configuration includes at least one flat panel electronic display.

12. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the interface enables modification to images presented on the presentation surface area.

13. The assembly of claim 12 wherein modification includes annotation of images.

14. The assembly of claim 1 wherein a computer running an application program may provide output to drive at least one of the presentation sub-spaces with real time images that represent the application program output.

15. The assembly of claim 14 wherein the interface enables freezing of the output of the application program to create an image of the output at an instant in time and wherein the image of the output at an instant in time can be stored as a session image.

16. The assembly of claim 15 wherein the image of the output at an instant in time can be annotated prior to storing the image as a session image.

17. The assembly of claim 1 further including a portable handheld device that includes a transmitter and that is useable to select and drag panel icons to various locations on the presentation surface.

18. An assembly for sharing information in a conference space, the assembly comprising:

a large display configuration including presentation surface area juxtaposed within the conference space for viewing by an audience within the conference space, the presentation surface area including at least first and second adjacent presentation sub-spaces;

a processor linked to the large display assembly and programmed to perform the steps of;

presenting an interface on the presentation surface area useable to generate session images within at least one of the presentation sub-spaces, the interface including a panel section in which a separate panel icon for each of the session images created during a session is presented, the interface further including a separate space on the presentation surface area associated with each of the presentation sub-spaces, the interface facilitating selection and dragging of panel icons from locations within the panel section of the presentation surface area to locations associated with the presentation sub-spaces to control the images presented in each of the presentation sub-spaces, wherein, when a panel icon is dragged to a space associated with a presentation sub-space, an image currently associated with the presentation sub-space is replaced at the sub-space by the image associated with the panel icon; and

wherein, an image currently presented in the first presentation sub-space can be dragged from the first presentation sub-space to the second presentation sub-space on the presentation surface area to move the image from the first to the second presentation sub-spaces and an image currently presented in the second presentation sub-space can be dragged from the second presentation sub-space to the first presentation sub-space on the presentation surface area to move the image from the second to the first presentation sub-spaces.

19. The assembly of claim 18 wherein the space on the presentation surface area associated with the first of the presentation sub-spaces substantially comprises presentation surface area.

20. A method for sharing information in a conference space, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a large display configuration including presentation surface area juxtaposed within the conference space for viewing by an audience within the conference space, the presentation surface area including at least first and second adjacent presentation sub-spaces;

linking a processor to the large display assembly and programmed to perform the steps of;

presenting an interface on the presentation surface area useable to generate session images within at least one of the presentation sub-spaces, the interface including a panel section in which a separate panel icon for each of the session images created during a session is presented, the interface further including a separate space on the presentation surface area associated with each of the presentation sub-spaces, the interface facilitating selection and dragging of panel icons from locations within the panel section of the presentation surface area to locations associated with the presentation sub-spaces to control the images presented in each of the presentation sub-spaces, wherein, when a panel icon is dragged to a space associated with a presentation sub-space, an image currently associated with the presentation sub-space is replaced at the sub-space by the image associated with the panel icon.