Method for deciding location of target device and electronic device thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9826365-B2
Application number	US-201414908058-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 29, 2014
Priority date	Jul 30, 2013
Publication date	Nov 21, 2017
Grant date	Nov 21, 2017

Abstract

A method for determining a location of a target device and an electronic device thereof are provided. The method includes acquiring an image photographing a first electronic device, determining a distance between the second electronic device and the first electronic device based on the acquired image, determining a direction in which the second electronic device photographs the first electronic device, determining a location of any one of the first electronic device and the second electronic device based on the decided distance and direction, and registering the determined location.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for determining a location of a target device of an electronic device, the method comprising:
acquiring an image of the target device;
determining a direction of the electronic device while acquiring the image;
determining, based on the acquired image, a distance between the target device and the electronic device;
transmitting, to a host device, information of the distance, the direction, and a location of the electronic device in an internal structure diagram; and
receiving, from the host device, information of a location of the target device in the internal structure diagram,
wherein the location of the target device is determined, by the host device, based on the distance, the direction of the electronic device and the location of the electronic device.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
acquiring an identifier of the target device by using at least one of a quick response (QR) code, a bar code, a radio frequency identification (RFID), or a near field communication (NFC) tag;
determining, based on the identifier, whether the location of the target device is registered in the internal structure diagram; and
in response to determining that the location of the target device is not registered in the internal structure diagram, acquiring the image comprising the target device.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:
transmitting, to the host device, information for the identifier of the target device,
wherein the determining of whether the location of the target device is registered in the internal structure diagram comprises receiving from the host device, a signal for requesting to acquire the image comprising the target device.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
displaying the location of the target device which is represented in the internal structure diagram.

5. The method of claim 1 ,
wherein the acquiring of the image comprising the target device comprises:
capturing, by an image capturing device of the electronic device, an image comprising the target device, or
receiving, from the target device, an image captured by the target device, and

wherein the image captured by the target device comprises the electronic device.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining a zone where the target device is located, based on the location of the target device,
wherein the zone is predetermined within the internal structure diagram.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
controlling the target device based on the location of the target device,
wherein the controlling of the target device based on the location of the target device comprises:
confirming a type and feature of a zone where the target device is located, wherein the zone is predetermined in the internal structure diagram, and
controlling the target device based on at least one of the confirmed type and feature of the zone and the kind of the target device, and

wherein the controlling of the target device based on the location of the target device comprises:
installing or uninstalling an application in the target device, or
controlling a menu of the application.

8. An electronic device for determining a location of a target device, the electronic device comprising:
an image capturing device configured to acquire an image of a target device;
at least one sensor for sensing a direction of the electronic device while acquiring the image;
at least one processor configured to determine, based on the acquired image, a distance between the target device and the electronic device; and
a transceiver configured to:
transmit, to a host device, information of the distance, the direction, and a location of the electronic device in an internal structure diagram, and
receive, from the host device, information of a location of the target device in the internal structure diagram,

wherein the location of the target device is determined, by the host device, based on the distance, the direction of the electronic device, and the location of the electronic device.

9. The electronic device of claim 8 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:
control the image capturing device to acquire an identifier of the target device by using at least one of a quick response (QR) code, a bar code, a radio frequency identification (RFID), or a near field communication (NFC) tag,
determine, based on the identifier, whether the location of the target device is registered in the internal structure diagram, and
in response to determining that the location of the target device is not registered in the internal structure diagram, control the image capturing device to acquire the image comprising the target device.

10. The electronic device of claim 9 , wherein the transceiver is further configured to:
transmit, to the host device, information for the identifier of the target device, and
receive from the host device, a signal for requesting to acquire the image comprising the target device.

11. The electronic device of claim 8 , wherein the electronic device further comprises a display configured to display the location of the target device which is represented in the internal structure diagram.

12. The electronic device of claim 8 ,
wherein the transceiver is further configured to receive, from the target device, an image captured by the target device, and
wherein the image captured by the target device comprises the electronic device.

13. The electronic device of claim 8 ,
wherein the at least one processor is further configured to determine a zone where the target device is located, based on the location of the target device, and
wherein the zone is predetermined within the internal structure diagram.

14. The electronic device of claim 8 ,
wherein the at least one processor is further configured to control the target device based on the location of the target device,
wherein the controlling of the target device based on the location of the target device comprises:
confirming a type and feature of a zone where the target device is located, wherein the zone is predetermined within the internal structure diagram, and
controlling the target device based on at least one of the confirmed type and feature of the zone and the kind of the target device, and

wherein the controlling of the target device based on the location of the target device comprises:
installing or uninstalling an application in the target device, or
controlling a menu of the application.

15. An electronic device for determining a location of a target device, the electronic device comprising:
a memory configured to store a location of the electronic device in an internal structure diagram;
an image capturing device configured to acquire an image comprising the target device;
at least one sensor for sensing a direction of the electronic device in relation to the target device, while acquiring the image; and
at least one processor configured to:
determine, based on the acquired image, a distance between the target device and the electronic device, and
determine a location of the target device in the internal structure diagram based on:
the distance between the target device and the electronic device,
the direction in relation to the target device, and
the location of the electronic device in the internal structure diagram.

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Ko Chang-Gun
• Lim Hun

Classifications

• H04L12/2803

  Home automation networks · CPC title

• H04L12/2809

  indicating that an appliance service is present in a home automation network (monitoring functionality H04L43/0817; discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services, H04L67/51) · CPC title

• H04L67/34

  involving the movement of software or configuration parameters  (network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416) · CPC title

• H04L67/125

  involving control of end-device applications over a network · CPC title

• H04W4/023

  using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds · CPC title