SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING SMART DEVICES WITH A REMOTE CONTROLLER

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a system (100) comprises a smartboard (10) and a remote controller (20), wherein the smartboard (10) comprises a frame structure (11), wherein a plurality of transmitters (111) and receivers (112) is arranged at the frame structure (11) and configured to transmit and receive radio signals (40) within a plane defined by the frame structure (11); and wherein the smartboard (10) further comprises a controller unit (12) coupled to at least one of the one or more of the plurality of transmitters (111) and receivers (112). The remote controller (20) is configured to provide a radio control signal (30) to the frame structure (11) and the controller unit (12) is configured to control the smartboard (10) based on a detection that the at least one of the one or more of the plurality of transmitters (111) and receivers (112) has received the radio control signal (30).

Claims

1. A system (100), comprising a smartboard (10) and a remote controller (20) for controlling the smartboard (10), wherein: the smartboard (10) comprises a frame structure (11), wherein a plurality of transmitters (111) and receivers (112) is arranged at the frame structure (11) and configured to transmit and receive radio signals (40) within a plane defined by the frame structure (11); and a controller unit (12) coupled to at least one of the one or more of the plurality of transmitters (111) and receivers (112); the remote controller (20) is configured to provide a radio control signal (30) to the frame structure (11); and wherein the controller unit (12) is configured to control the smartboard (10) based on a detection that the at least one of the one or more of the plurality of transmitters (111) and receivers (112) has received the radio control signal (30).

2. The system (100) of claim 1, wherein both the radio signals (40) and the radio control signal (30) are compliant with the IR standard.

3. The system (100) of claim 1 or 2, wherein each of the at least one or more or all of the plurality of transmitters (111) comprises one or more LEDs (113) configured to emit light.

4. The system (100) of claim 3, wherein each of the at least one or more or all of the plurality of receivers (112) comprises one or more photodetectors (114) configured to receive the light emitted by the one or more LEDs (113).

5. The system (100) of one of the preceding claims, wherein the controller unit (12) is configured to select one of the plurality of the receivers (112) that has received the radio control signal (30) by determining a first receiver (112a) of the plurality of receivers (112) and switching to a different receiver (112b) of the plurality of receivers depending a signal quality of the received radio control signal (30) at the first receiver (112a) and the different receiver (112b), respectively.

6. The system (100) of one of the preceding claims, including an application (50), wherein the application (50) is configured to separately control the receivers (112). The system (100) of claim 6, wherein the controller unit (12) is configured to perform the function of the application (50).

8. The system (100) of one of the preceding claims, comprising a camera (60) at the frame structure (11), wherein the camera is configured to locate the remote controller (20).

9. The system (100) of claim 8, wherein the camera (60) is configured to track the remote controller (20).

10. The system (100) of claim 8 or 9, wherein the camera (60) is configured to provide information indicative of the location of the remote controller (20) to the application (50) and/or the controller unit (12).

11. The system (100) of one of the preceding claims, further comprising a gyro sensor (80) for determining a relative position the smartboard (10) has with respect to the remote controller (20) and a servo motor (81) configured to orientate the smartboard (10) towards the remote controller (20).

12. The system (100) of one of the preceding claims, comprising an ultrasonic detector, laser based detector and/or radar detector configured to locate the remote controller (20).

13. A method for controlling a system (100), the system comprising a smartboard (10) and a remote controller (20) for controlling the smartboard (10), wherein: the smartboard (10) comprises a frame structure (11), wherein a plurality of transmitters (111) and receivers (112) is arranged at the frame structure (11) and configured to transmit and receive radio signals (40) within a plane defined by the frame structure (11); and a controller unit (12) coupled to at least one of the one or more of the plurality of transmitters (111) and receivers (112); the method comprising providing, by the remote controller (20), a radio control signal (30) to the frame structure (11); and controlling, by the controller unit (12), the smartboard (10) based on a detection that the at least one of the one or more of the plurality of transmitters (111) and receivers (112) has received the radio control signal (30).

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] So that the manner of the above recited features of the present disclosure can be understood in detail, a more particular description of the disclosure, briefly summarized above, may be made by reference to embodiments. The accompanying drawings relate to embodiments of the disclosure and are described in the following:

[0013] FIG. 1: shows a schematic view of the system for controlling a smartboard with a remote controller according to embodiments described herein;

[0014] FIG. 2: shows a schematic view of the frame structure according to the embodiments described herein;

[0015] FIG. 3: illustrates a method for controlling a smartboard with a remote controller and especially the schematic function of the controller unit according to the embodiments described herein;

[0016] FIG. 4A and 4B: shows a schematic view of the system including a camera and the function of the camera according to the embodiments described herein; and

[0017] FIG. 5: shows a schematic view of the frame structure and the function of the application according to the embodiments described herein.

[0018] FIG. 6: shows a schematic view of the gyro sensor and the servo motor according to the embodiments described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0019] Reference will now be made in detail to the various embodiments of the disclosure, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the figures. Within the following description of the drawings, the same reference numbers refer to the same components. Generally, only the differences with respect to individual embodiments are described. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the disclosure and is not meant as a limitation of the disclosure. Further, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used on or in conjunction with other embodiments to yield yet a further embodiment. It is intended that the description includes such modifications and variations.

[0020] Common smartboards can be controlled with a remote controller. These remote controllers often work based on the IR standard. Smartboards have an externally installed module that corresponds to the IR signals transmitted by the remote controller to execute the command that is given via the remote controller. This external module is only able to receive the IR signals transmitted by the remote controller if the remote controller is pointed at the module in a certain angle, thus a rapid and effective use of smartboards not possible. Moreover, these externally installed modules result in extra cost in production and use, thereby diminishing the attractiveness of the use of smartboards.

[0021] The embodiments of the present disclosure overcome the above drawbacks by providing a system with a plurality of transmitters and receivers such that the remote controller can be pointed anywhere at the screen of the smartboard and the signals transmitted by the remote controller are recognized wherever the remote controller is pointed, without the need for an externally installed module. Thereby a rapid and effective response and use of the smartboard is guaranteed and costs are reduced.

[0022] FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a system 100 for controlling a smartboard with a remote controller according to the embodiments described herein.

[0023] The system 100 comprises a smartboard 10 and a remote controller 20, wherein the smartboard 10 comprises a frame structure 11, wherein a plurality of transmitters 111 and receivers 112 is arranged at the frame structure 11 and configured to transmit and receive radio signals 40 within a plane defined by the frame structure 11; and wherein the smartboard 10 further comprises a controller unit 12 coupled to at least one of the one or more of the plurality of transmitters 111 and receivers 112. The remote controller 20 is configured to provide a radio control signal 30 to the frame structure 11 and the controller unit 12 is configured to control the smartboard 10 based on a detection that the at least one of the one or more of the plurality of transmitters 111 and receivers 112 has received the radio control signal 30.

[0024] The remote controller 20 provides a radio control signal 30 to the receivers 111 in the frame structure 11. This structural element may be rectangular, round or elliptic. Controlling the smartboard 10 with a remote controller 20 implies fulfilling the common functions a remote controller 20 is used for such as turning on and off the smartboard.

[0025] FIG. 2 shows a schematic view of the frame structure 11. This structural element may be rectangular, round, elliptic or shaped in any shape that spans an area. The transmitters 111 and receivers 112 located at the frame structure 11 may be arranged at regular intervals or without a certain order.

[0026] Both the radio signals 40 that the transmitters 111 and receivers 112 at the frame structure 12 are configured to transmit and receive, and the radio control signal 30 provided by the remote controller 20 are for example compliant with the IR standard. These signals may also be compliant with radio wave signals, sound, ultrasonic sound, inductive transmission with a transmission frequency of about 10 kHz.

[0027] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure each of the at least one or more or all of the plurality of transmitters 111 may comprise one or more LEDs 113 configured to emit light and each of at least one or more or all of the plurality of receivers 112 may comprise one or more photodetectors 114 configured to receive the light emitted by the one or more LEDs 113. The number of LEDs 113 and photodetectors 114 may be equal or differ. The LEDs 113 and photodetectors 114 may be of different sizes such that one or more photodetectors 114 correspond to the light emitted by one LED 113 or vice versa. Further, the LEDs 113 may be arranged at one side of the frame and the photodetectors 114 on the opposite side or they may be arranged alternately according to a certain pattern or randomly. The photodetectors 114 are arranged in a way such that they can project the light of the LEDs 113.

[0028] FIG. 3 illustrates a method for controlling a smartboard 10 with a remote controller 20 and especially the schematic function of the controller unit 12.

[0029] The system comprises the controller unit 12, wherein the controller unit 12 is configured to select one of the plurality of receivers 112 that has received the radio control signal 30 by determining a first receiver 112a of the plurality of receivers 112 and switching to a different receiver 112b of the plurality of receivers 112 depending a signal quality of the received radio control signal 30 at the first receiver 112a and the different receiver 112b, respectively. In order to do so, the controller unit 12 is coupled to several receivers 112.

[0030] FIGS. 4A and 4B show a schematic view of the system 100 comprising a camera 60 and the function of the camera 60 according to the embodiments described herein.

[0031] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the system 100 includes a camera 60 at the frame structure 11, wherein the camera 60 is configured to locate the remote controller 20 and to track the remote controller 20. In particular, the camera 60 may also be a wide angle camera. In another example it may also be a video recorder. The camera 60 is said to be at the frame structure 11. Alternatively, it may be installed externally at the smartboard 10. The tracking of the remote controller 20 may be fulfilled by using an object tracking algorithm. In another example, the camera 60 may be programmed to follow a GPS transmitter or a Ground Station Controller (GSC) that is installed at the remote controller 20. In yet another example, vision recognition technology may be used to track the remote controller 20.

[0032] According to another embodiment, the remote controller 20 may be located by an ultrasonic detector, a laser based detector and/or a radar detector.

[0033] FIG. 5 shows a schematic view of the frame structure 11 and the function of the application according to the embodiments described herein.

[0034] The system 100 further includes an application 50, wherein the application 50 is configured to separately control the receivers 112. The application 50 may be an extra module or may be installed as part of the controller unit 12. It is activated when the smartboard 10 is powered on by a software in the background. In another example the controller unit 12 is configured to perform the function of the application 50.

[0035] The camera 60 is configured to provide information indicative of the location of the remote controller 20 to the application 60 and/or controller unit 12. The transmission of the information may occur by means with or without a wire and the processor to process the information indicative of the location of the remote controller 20 may be part of the camera 60 or an external module.

[0036] FIG. 6 shows a schematic view of the gyro sensor 80 and the servo motor 81 according to the embodiments described herein.

[0037] The system 100 may further comprise a gyro sensor 80 and a servo motor 81 configured to determine a relative position the smartboard 10 has with respect to the remote controller 20 and to orientate the smartboard 10 towards the remote controller 20. By this, the smartboard 10 is always positioned such that the receivers 112 and transmitters 111 at the frame structure 11 are in view with the radio control signal 30 transmitted by the remote controller 20. This function may replace the function of the camera 60 or may assist the camera 60.

[0038] The present disclosure comprises a method for controlling a system 100 comprising a smartboard 10 and a remote controller 20 for controlling the smartboard 10, wherein the smartboard 10 comprises a frame structure 11 wherein a plurality of transmitters 111 and receivers 112 is arranged at the frame structure 11 and configured to transmit and receive radio signals 40 within a plane defined by the frame structure 11. The method further comprises a controller unit 12 coupled to at least one of the one or more of the plurality of transmitters 111 and receivers 112. The remote controller 20 is configured to provide a radio control signal 30 to the frame structure 11. The method comprises detecting the radio control signal 30 by the at least one of the one or more of the plurality of transmitters 111 and receivers 112 and controlling the smartboard 10 by the controller unit 12 based on the detection.