Control apparatus and method for sharing information in a collaborative workspace

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9339106-B2
Application number	US-201414293135-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 2, 2014
Priority date	Oct 12, 2007
Publication date	May 17, 2016
Grant date	May 17, 2016

Abstract

A method of selecting information from a video source to be displayed on a single common display screen in a collaborative workspace, the method for use with a plurality of video source devices, each video source device including a device display screen and a wireless transmitter and presenting content on the device display screen, the method comprising the steps of dividing the common display screen into a plurality of presentation spaces, providing a separate control interface on each of the plurality of device display screens, each control interface including a selectable control for each of the plurality of presentation spaces and for each of the control interfaces, when a selectable control is selected, replicating the content from the device display screen on the presentation space associated with the selected control.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of selecting information from a video source to be displayed on a single common display screen in a collaborative workspace, the method for use with a plurality of video source devices, each video source device including a device display screen and a wireless transmitter and presenting content on the device display screen, the method comprising the steps of:
dividing the common display screen into a plurality of presentation spaces;
providing a separate control interface on each of the plurality of device display screens, each control interface including a selectable control for each of the plurality of presentation spaces; and
for each of the control interfaces, when a selectable control is selected, replicating the content from the device display screen on the presentation space associated with the selected control.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the common display screen is divided into a pattern of presentation spaces and wherein each control interface mirrors the pattern of presentation spaces on the common display screen.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the pattern of presentation spaces on the common display screen includes four presentation spaces arranged in two rows and two columns.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein each of the presentation spaces is rectangular.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein each of the selectable controls indicates two states including a first state when the content from the device display screen of the source device presenting the interface is not replicated on the presentation space associated with the selected control and a second state when the content from the device display screen of the video source device presenting the interface is replicated on the presentation space associated with the selected control.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein each selectable control indicates the first and second states by changing the color of the selectable control.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein two or more of the selectable controls on one of the control interfaces can be selected to replicate the content from the device display screen presenting the selected control on two or more associated presentation spaces simultaneously.

8. The method of claim 6 further including associating a switching device with the common display screen and wirelessly transmitting a selection signal from one of the video source devices to the switching device when one of the selectable controls is selected.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the step of replicating includes transmitting the content on the source device display used to select the selectable control to the switching device and controlling the switching device to present the transmitted content via the presentation space.

10. The method of claim 5 wherein each control interface further includes a selectable control for removing content from the presentation spaces that replicates the content presented via the source display device that presents the interface such that when the selectable control for removing content is selected, the content from the source device display that is replicated on one of the presentation spaces is removed.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the selectable control for replicating content and the selectable control for removing replicated content include different screen selectable icons.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein the selectable control for replicating content and the selectable control for removing replicated content are the same on screen selectable icon where the function of the icon toggles between replicating content and removing content.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein each of the control interfaces also includes a selectable off control that, when selected, also removes content from the presentation spaces that replicates the content presented via the source display device that presents the interface.

14. The method of claim 5 wherein, after a first selection of one of the selectable controls that results in replicating the content from a video source display screen in one of the presentation spaces, a second selection of the one of the selectable controls while the content from the video source display screen is replicated in the one of the presentation spaces results in removing the content from the one of the presentation spaces.

15. The method of claim 5 wherein, regardless of which video source device display screen content is presented in any of the presentation spaces, any one of the control interfaces can be used to replace the presented content and replicate content from the source device display associated with the interface on an associated presentation space.

16. The method of claim 10 wherein each control interface includes a small window hovering over video source content on the device display screen and wherein the control interface is not replicated on the presentation spaces.

17. The method of claim 1 wherein, regardless of which video source device display screen content is presented in any of the presentation spaces, any one of the control interfaces can be used to replicate content from the video source display screen presenting the interface on any one of the presentation spaces.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein each of the selectable controls indicates two states including a first state when the content from the device display screen of the video source device presenting the interface is not replicated on the presentation space associated with the selected control and a second state when the content from the device display screen of the video source device presenting the interface is replicated on the presentation space associated with the selected control.

19. The method of claim 1 wherein the display screen includes at least one projector projecting content into at least a subset of the presentation spaces including at least two of the presentation spaces.

20. The method of claim 1 further including associating a switching device with the common display screen and wirelessly transmitting a selection signal from one of the video source devices to the switching device when one of the selectable controls is selected.

21. The method of claim 20 further including providing a table top adjacent the common display screen wherein the switching device is mounted a support structure of the table top.

22. A method of selecting information from a video source to be displayed on a single common display screen, the method for use with a plurality of video source devices, each video source device including a device display screen and a wireless transmitter and presenting content on the device display screen, the method comprising the steps of:
dividing the common display screen into four presentation spaces;
providing a separate control interface on each of the plurality of device display screens, each control interface including a selectable control for each of the four presentation spaces wherein the selectable control can indicate at least two states including a first state wherein content on the device display screen presenting the interface is not replicated on an associated presentation space and a second state wherein content on the device display screen presenting the interface is replicated on an associated presentation space; and
for each of the control interfaces, when a selectable control is selected while content from the display screen presenting the interface is not replicated on the presentation space a

Assignees

• Steelcase Inc

Inventors

• Epstein Lewis
• Kincaid Brett
• Yoo Hyun
• Stage Suzanne
• Scherrer Lukas
• Cheng Larry

Classifications

• H04N5/268

  Signal distribution or switching · CPC title

• H04N7/183

  for receiving images from a single remote source · CPC title

• H04N7/152

  Multipoint control units therefor · CPC title

• H04N7/142

  Constructional details of the terminal equipment, e.g. arrangements of the camera and the display · CPC title

• H04N7/15 Primary

  Conference systems · CPC title