Patent Publication Number: US-2013246937-A1

Title: Method for managing sink device, source device and system for the same

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims priority to and the benefits under 35 U.S.C. §119 of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2012-0025336, filed on Mar. 13, 2012, the contents of which are herein incorporated in its entirety by reference for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. 
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Field 
     Exemplary embodiments relate to a source device, system, and method for managing a sink device by generating a separate virtual page for the same. 
     2. Discussion of the Background 
     Wireless communication techniques are used in industrial fields including not only communication fields but also service fields. Accordingly, various kinds of services based on a wireless network such as voice call, data transmission and Internet are provided, and the wireless communication techniques based on such a wireless network are, for example, Wireless Broadband internet (WiBro), Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) or the like. 
     WiFi is a wireless communication technique based on the IEEE 802.11 standards and may be a wireless local area network (LAN) technique, which may use a wireless technology such as High Fidelity (Hi-Fi), and may allow high-performance wireless communication. The wireless LAN technique may construct a network by using radio waves or light waves, without using a wired technique, for example. 
     If such a WiFi technique is used, a portable computer, such as a notebook computer, may be connected to a WiFi network and may be used in a wireless manner. In addition, if the WiFi technique is used, a plurality of PCs may be connected to transmit large-sized files, as well as graphic, video and audio data. Wireless Ethernet of WiFi may operate at a speed of 11 Mbps per second and may be used within a house or office within a radius of 500 m under optimal conditions, for example. 
     Further, as mobile terminals using WiFi, such as smart phones, have been recently propagated, users may make WiFi connections, such as by using such a mobile terminal. In addition, a mobile terminal may also have various functions, such as games, moving picture or broadcast regeneration or the like, for example. 
     However, a mobile terminal may have a relatively small screen for easy portability. Even though the mobile terminal may be connected to an external display device having a large screen to display the screen of the mobile terminal at the external display device, this may enlarge the screen of the mobile terminal. 
     In other words, since the external display device may share the screen of the mobile terminal, the external display device may display a screen that is displayed on the mobile terminal, such as while using functions of the mobile terminal, such as navigating on a wallpaper of the mobile terminal, executing an application, using a web browser or the like. 
     For example, where a smart phone may be connected to a television (TV), while regenerating a music video on YouTube® and watching the same music video on the TV, a user may not be able to move to another page at the smart phone to separately use short message service (SMS), phone or chatting service. If the user moves to another page, the TV may also display the moved to page on its screen. 
     SUMMARY 
     Exemplary embodiments relate to apparatus and methods for using a source device independently, separate from the screen of an external display device to display information. Exemplary embodiments of the invention provide a source device to manage a sink device to display information. The source device includes, for example, a sink device connection determining unit to determine whether an external sink device is connected, a page configuring unit to generate a virtual page interlinked with the sink device and to connect the virtual page to a basic page, when the sink device is connected to communicate with the source device, a display unit to display the basic page or the virtual page; and a page processing unit to output frame data to display the basic page and the virtual page, respectively, to the display unit and to transmit the frame data for displaying the virtual page and update information of the virtual page to the sink device. Accordingly, the virtual page of the sink device may be managed and displayed independently from the basic page displayed at the source device, according to exemplary embodiments. 
     Exemplary embodiments of the invention provide a source device to manage displaying of information on a sink device, including: a sink device connection determining unit to determine whether at least one external sink device is communicatively connected to the source device; a page configuring unit to selectively generate at least one basic page and at least one virtual page, and to selectively connect the at least one virtual page to at least one basic page; a display unit to selectively display the at least one basic page and the at least one virtual page; and a page processing unit to selectively output frame data to selectively display the at least one basic page and the at least one virtual page by the display unit of the source device and to selectively transmit to the at least one sink device the frame data for displaying by the at least one sink device the at least one corresponding virtual page. 
     Exemplary embodiments of the invention also provide a source device to manage displaying of information on a sink device, including: a sink device connection determining unit to determine whether at least one external sink device is communicatively connected to the source device; a page configuring unit to selectively generate at least one basic page and at least one virtual page; a display unit to selectively display the at least one basic page and the at least one virtual page; and a page processing unit to selectively output frame data to selectively display the at least one basic page and the at least one virtual page by the display unit of the source device and to selectively transmit to the at least one sink device the frame data for displaying by the at least one sink device the at least one corresponding virtual page, and the corresponding at least one virtual page transmitted to the sink device being managed by the source device independently from the at least one basic page. 
     Exemplary embodiments of the invention also provide a method for managing displaying of information transmitted from a source device to a sink device, including: determining whether at least one external sink device is communicatively connected to a source device; selectively generating at least one basic page; selectively generating at least one virtual page; selectively connecting the at least one virtual page to at least one basic page; selectively outputting frame data to selectively display the at least one basic page and the at least one virtual page by a display unit of the source device; and selectively transmitting to the at least one sink device the frame data for displaying by the at least one sink device the at least one corresponding virtual page, when it is determined the at least one sink device is communicatively connected to the source device. 
     Additional features of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention. 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram showing a source device according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram showing a screen displayed by the source device of  FIG. 1  where a sink device is not connected to the source device according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic view showing a screen displayed by the source device of  FIG. 1  where a sink device is connected to the source device according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram showing an example of using a sink device where connected to the source device of  FIG. 3  according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a detailed block diagram showing a virtual page moving unit of  FIG. 1  according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention; 
         FIGS. 6 and 7  are schematic diagrams showing examples of moving to a virtual page according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. 
         FIG. 8  is a flowchart for illustrating a method for managing a sink device by using a source device according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS 
     The invention is described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the exemplary embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these exemplary embodiments are provided so that this disclosure is thorough, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, the size and relative sizes of layers and regions may be exaggerated for clarity. Like reference numerals in the drawings denote like elements. 
     As used throughout a wireless network may include wireless fidelity (WiFi), a wireless broadband (WiBro), and the like, and accordingly should not be construed in a limiting sense or as being limited to a specific scheme. 
     It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “connected to” another element, it can be directly connected to the other element, or intervening elements may be present; and, as to wireless communication, may be interpreted as being wirelessly connected, such as a wireless connection between a source device and a sink device. 
     Hereinafter, a source device may include, for example, handheld, portable or tablet computer or communication devices, and a method for managing displaying information transmitted from a source device to a sink device, will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings, and should not be construed in a limiting sense. Also the source device may include hardware, firmware, or software to perform various functions of the source device in managing displaying information transmitted from the source device for displaying information on a display unit of a sink device, including those described herein, as may be known to one of skill in the art. 
     Also, a sink device may include, for example, any of various devices or structures used for displaying information can be wired or wireless connected to a source device, and may include another source device, and also may include hardware, firmware, or software to perform various functions in displaying the information, including those described herein, as may be known to one of skill in the art. 
     Hereinafter, a source device, such as including, for example, a mobile terminal, handheld, portable or tablet computer or communication devices, and a method for managing displaying information transmitted from a source device to a sink device will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings. 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram showing a source device according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. Although  FIG. 1  illustrates the source device as being a mobile terminal, aspects need not be limited as previously described. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a system according to exemplary embodiments includes a source device  10  and at least one sink device, such as sink devices  20 ,  40 ,  60 , spaced apart from the source device  10 . Hereinafter, the at least one sink device  20 ,  40 ,  60  will be explained with reference to sink device  20  or collectively in relation to sink devices  20 ,  40  or  60 , for example. 
     The source device  10  may include various kinds of mobile terminals such as smart phones, tablet computers, net books, personal digital assistants (PDA), portable media players (PMP) or the like, which may display a screen in the unit of page, for example. In addition, the source device  10  may execute various application programs based on an operation system (OS) of the source device  10 . 
     The OS is a system program for allowing an application program to use hardware of the computer and may include all kinds of operating systems loadable on a mobile terminal, such as Android OS™, iOS, Window Mobile OS, Bada OS, Simbian OS, BlackBerry OS® or the like, for example. 
     The application program is a program to perform specific tasks by using a computer, and may include not only applications but also may include multimedia contents, such as games, moving pictures and photographs and programs, such as image viewers and moving picture regenerators, which execute such multimedia content, for example. 
     The sink device  20  may include not only mobile terminals but also all kinds of display devices capable of receiving frame date from the source device and displaying the frame data, such as desktop computers, monitors, TV and smart TV, for example, and should not be construed in a limiting sense. 
     The source device  10  and the sink device  20  may be communicatively connected, such as to perform wired or wireless communication, and for example, may perform communication with each other by using a wireless local area network (LAN), for example. The wireless LAN may allow high-speed Internet within a predetermined or reference distance by using radio waves or infrared (IR) rays without using lines, and may include all kinds of wireless local communication techniques, such as Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), for example. 
       FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram showing a screen displayed by the source device  10  of  FIG. 1  where a sink device is not connected to the source device, according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , the source device  10  according to exemplary embodiments may display only a basic page  11 , such as basic pages  11   a,    11   b,    11   c  or  11   d,  at a source device display unit  700  before being connected to the sink device  20 , and even when having information about a virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61  the source device  10  may not display the virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61  at the source device display unit  700 . 
     The basic page  11  is a wallpaper page provided by the source device  10 , and represents a screen unit that may be initially observed by a user through horizontal/vertical navigation or observed in an enlarged or reduced state by a user setting or by adding or editing an application, such as on the source device  10 . The basic page  11  may be provided by the source device  10  regardless of the connection of an external sink device  20 . 
     For example, in a case where the source device  10  is based on an Android OS, the basic page  11  has a given number of initial pages, and the number may be increased or decreased by adding an application or by using a user setting. In addition, in case where the source device  10  is based on iOS, the basic page  11  is a screen unit observable through horizontal/vertical navigation, such as by adding an application or using a user edition or a screen unit, such as a search window which appears at a navigation to the leftmost side, for example. 
     The basic page  11  may be displayed to turn over horizontally or vertically by a touch or rotation applied to the source device  10 . The virtual pages  21 ,  41 or  61  may be interlinked with one or more sink devices  20 ,  40 , or  60 , respectively, and may be displayed in association with the basic page  11 . 
     According to exemplary embodiments, the virtual page  21  is not displayed until the sink device  20  is connected to the source device  10 . However, according to exemplary embodiments, even when the sink device  20  is not yet connected to the source device  10 , the virtual page  21 ,  41   61  may be displayed, and the virtual page  21  may be managed as a page not interlinked with the sink device  20 , as represented in  FIG. 2 . 
       FIG. 3  is a schematic view showing a screen displayed by the source device  10  of  FIG. 1  where a sink device  20  is connected to the source device  10 , according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , where the sink device  20  is connected to the source device  10  according to exemplary embodiments, the virtual page  21 , where interlinked with the sink device  20 , may be displayed at the source device display unit  700 . 
     If the sink device  20  is connected to the source device  10 , a corresponding virtual page  21  is activated, and the virtual page  21  is processed to allow page navigation by the manipulation of a user. As a result, the virtual page  21 , which is not observable before the sink device  20  is connected, is observed. For example, if the basic page  11 , such as basic page  11   a,  is dragged to the left as shown in  FIG. 3 , a virtual page  21  appears over the basic page  11 . 
     The screen  21   sc  of the virtual page  21  displayed at the source device  10  is also displayed at the sink device  20  such as on sink device display unit  200 , for example. In addition to the exemplary screen  21   sc,  other exemplary screens, such as  41   sc  or  61   sc,  as corresponding to virtual pages  41  or  61 , are illustrated as may be displayed on the source device  10  and on corresponding sink devices  40  or  60 , for example. The user of a source device  10  may execute various applications, games, moving pictures or the like at the virtual page  21  and display them at the sink device  20 , such as may have a relatively a large screen. 
     Particularly, even when the source device  10  displays the basic page  11  again, such as basic page  11   a,  the sink device  20  may still display the virtual page  21 . Therefore, by recognizing the screen of the sink device  20  as a partial page of the source device  10 , the user may manage the basic page  11 , such as basic page  11   a,  while managing a screen, such as screen  21   sc  corresponding to virtual page  21 , to be displayed at the sink device  20  as a separate virtual page  21 , for example. 
     In addition, since the virtual page  21  may provide functions related to dragging or icons, the user may move an icon, such as icon I 1 , formed at the basic page  11 , such as basic page  11   a,  to the virtual page  21 , such as illustrated by the arrow in  FIG. 3 , or edit the virtual page  21  as, for example, by generating a new icon, such as icon I 2 , at the virtual page  21 . Therefore, by managing the virtual page  21 , managing the interlinked sink device  20  may likewise be facilitated. 
       FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram showing an example of using a sink device  20  of  FIG. 3  according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , where a moving picture is regenerated at the virtual page  21 , the moving picture is also displayed at the sink device  20  interlinked with the virtual page  21 . In this case, even when the source device  10  moves to the basic page  11 , such as basic page  11   a,  again, the sink device  20  still displays the virtual page  21  where the moving picture is generated, according to exemplary embodiments. 
     Therefore, the user may perform other tasks on the source device  10 , such as sending a short message service (SMS) or making a call, while watching the desired moving picture on the sink device display unit  200  of sink device  20 , for example. Hereinafter, the source device  10  for performing these and other functions according to exemplary embodiments will be further described. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1  again, the source device  10  according to exemplary embodiments includes a sink device connection determining unit  100 , a page configuring unit  300 , a page processing unit  500  and the source device display unit  700 . The source device  10  may further include a virtual page moving unit  900 . Also, the source device  10  may include a controller/processor  12  for implementing the operations and functions of the source device or mobile terminal  10  according to exemplary embodiments. The source device  10  may further include a memory/storage  14  for storing software, programs, instructions, or data used for implementing the operations and functions of the source device  10  according to exemplary embodiments. 
     All or part of one or more of the controller/processor  12  or the memory/storage  14  may be integrated with one or more of the above-described sink device connection determining unit  100 , page configuring unit  300 , page processing unit  500 , source device display unit  700  or virtual page moving unit  900  for implementing the operations and functions of the source device  10  according to exemplary embodiments. 
     The controller/processor  12 , the memory/storage  14  the sink device connection determining unit  100 , page configuring unit  300 , page processing unit  500 , source device display unit  700  or virtual page moving unit  900  may include any of various memory or storage media for storing software, program instructions, data files, data structures, and the like, and may also include any of various processors, computers or application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) for example, to implement various operations in managing displaying of information transmitted from a source device  10  to a sink device, such as sink devices  20 ,  40 , or  60 , as described herein. 
     The software, media and program instructions may be those specially designed and constructed for the purposes of the present invention, or they may be of the kind well-known and available to those having skill in the computer software arts. Examples of program instructions include both machine code, such as produced by a compiler, and files containing higher level code that may be executed by the computer using an interpreter. The described hardware devices may, for example, include hardware, firmware or other modules to perform the operations of the described embodiments of the present invention. 
     The sink device connection determining unit  100  determines whether at least one sink device  20  is communicatively connected to the source device  10 . The communicative connection of the sink device  20 , or sink devices  40  or  60 , may be performed according to a wired or wireless connection to the source device  10  or by registering an external device by an input of a connection signal. Where the sink device  20  is connected to the source device  10 , the sink device connection determining unit  100  may provide a connection event to the page configuring unit  300 . 
     The page configuring unit  300  may selectively generate one or more of at least one basic page  11 , such as basic pages,  11   a,    11   b,    11   c  or  11   d,  or at least one virtual page, such as virtual pages  21 ,  41  or  61 , to selectively interlink the at least one virtual page  21  with the corresponding at least one sink device, such as sink devices  20 ,  40  or  60 , where the sink device connection determining unit  100  determines the at least one sink device  20 ,  40  or  60  is communicatively connected to the source device  10 , and to selectively connect the at least one virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61  to the corresponding sink device  20 ,  40  or  60 , according to exemplary embodiments. 
     In a case where the sink device  20  is connected to the source device  10 , the page configuring unit  300  generates a virtual page  21  interlinked with the connected sink device  20  and connects the virtual page  21  to the basic page  11 . In this regard, the page configuring unit  300  may include a basic page generating unit  310 , a virtual page generating unit  330  and a page connecting unit  350 . 
     The basic page generating unit  310  selectively generate the at least one basic page  11 , such as basic pages  11   a,    11   b,    11   c  or  11   d,  whether or not the source device  10  is connected to the sink device  20 . The basic page  11  may include at least one page or a plurality of basic pages. For example,  FIG. 2 ,  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4  depict the above described four basic pages  11   a,    11   b,    11   c  or  11   d,  for example. 
     The virtual page generating unit  330  selectively generates at least one virtual page, such as virtual pages  21 ,  41  or  61 , interlinked with at least one connected sink device, such as sink devices  20 ,  40  or  60 , for example. The virtual page generating unit  330  may further include an internal storage unit, or be integrated with or part of memory/storage  14  for storing the information of the virtual page  21  of the sink device  20 , and the information may be used when the virtual page generating unit  330  selectively generates the virtual page, such as virtual page  21 , for example. 
     The page configuring unit  300  may selectively generate a plurality of virtual pages  21 ,  41  or  61  to interlink with corresponding ones of a plurality of sink devices  20 ,  40  or  60 , where the sink device connection determining unit  100  determines the plurality of sink devices  20 ,  40  or  60  are connected to the source device  10 , according to exemplary embodiments. 
     Where two or more sink devices  20 ,  40 ,  60  are connected to the source device  10 , the virtual page generating unit  330  separately generates virtual pages, such as virtual pages  21 ,  41  or  61 , respectively interlinked with the sink devices  20 ,  40 ,  60 . The virtual pages  21 ,  41  or  61  may be configured with a single page, for example. In addition, where the sink device  20 ,  40  or  60  is respectively connected to source device  10  and then another sink device  20 ,  40  or  60  is connected, at least one new virtual page  21 ,  41 or  61  may be selectively generated and respectively added, for example. Accordingly, the source device  10  may facilitate managing one or more sink devices, such as sink devices  20 ,  40  or  60 , by managing a corresponding virtual page, such as virtual pages  21 ,  41  or  61 , interlinked with a corresponding sink device  20 ,  40 , or  60 , according to exemplary embodiments, for example. 
     The page connecting unit  350  connects the generated basic page  11 , such as basic pages  11   a,    11   b,    11   c  or  11   d,  and the at least one generated virtual page, such as virtual pages  21 ,  41  or  61 , according to exemplary embodiments, for example, to allow switching between the connected basic page  11  and the virtual page  21 ,  41 , or  61  by a drag or other operation. The connected virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61  may have the same number of pages as the number of the connected sink devices  20 ,  40 ,  60 , for example. 
     The page processing unit  500  selectively outputs frame data to selectively display one or more of the at least one basic page  11 , such as basic pages  11   a,    11   b,    11   c  or  11   d,  and at least one virtual page, such as virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61 , respectively, to the source device display unit  700 . And selectively transmits to the at least one sink device  20 ,  40  or  60 , the frame data for displaying on the corresponding sink device display unit  200 ,  400  or  600 , the at least one virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61 , or update information of a corresponding virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61 , according to exemplary embodiments. 
     The page processing unit  500  may output frame data to selectively display one or more of the at least one basic page  11 , such as basic pages  11   a,    11   b,    11   c  or  11   d,  and to selectively display a plurality of virtual pages, such as virtual pages  21 ,  41  or  61 , by the source device display unit  700 , and to selectively transmit to a plurality of sink devices, such as sink devices  20 ,  40  or  60 , one or more of frame data for displaying the corresponding virtual pages, such as  21 ,  41  or  61 , or update information of one or more of the corresponding virtual pages  21 ,  41  or  61 , according to exemplary embodiments, for example. 
     The page processing unit  500  may include a basic page processing unit  510  for outputting the frame data for displaying the at least one basic page  11 , such as basic pages  11   a,    11   b,    11   c  or  11   d,  and a virtual page processing unit  530  for outputting one or more the frame data for displaying the at least one virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61 , or the update information for a corresponding virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61 , according to exemplary embodiments. 
     The basic page processing unit  510  may provide the at least one basic page  11 , such as basic pages  11   a,    11   b,    11   c  or  11   d,  by selectively outputting frame data corresponding to the at least one basic page, such as basic pages  11   a,    11   b,    11   c  or  11   d,  at the same ratio according to or at a screen ratio of the source device display unit  700  of the source device  10 , according to exemplary embodiments. The basic page processing unit  510  may include a basic page frame buffer unit  511  to buffer the frame data and for selectively outputting the frame data for displaying the at least one basic page  11 , such as basic pages  11   a,    11   b,    11   c  or  11   d,  through the frame buffer, such as may be provided in conjunction with the memory/storage  14 , for example. 
     The virtual page processing unit  530  may provide the at least one virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61 , by selectively outputting frame data corresponding to the at least one virtual page, such as virtual pages  21 ,  41  or  61 , at the same ratio according to or at a screen ratio of the display unit  200 ,  400  or  600 , of the corresponding at least one sink device  20 ,  40  or  60 , instead of at the screen ratio of the display unit  700  of the source device  10 , according to exemplary embodiments. The virtual page processing unit  530  may include a virtual page frame buffer unit  531  to buffer the frame data and for outputting the frame data for displaying the at least one virtual page  21 ,  40  or  61 , through the frame buffer, such as may be provided in conjunction with the memory/storage  14 , for example. 
     The display unit  700  of the source device  10  and the display unit  200 ,  400  or  600  of the at least one sink device  20 ,  40  or  60 , may receive and display the frame data for displaying the corresponding virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61 , for example. In addition, even when the display unit  700  of the source device  10  displays the basic page  11 , such as basic page  11   a,    11   b,    11   c  or  11   d,  the display unit  200 ,  400  or  600  of the corresponding sink device  20 ,  40  or  60  may continuously receive the frame data for displaying the corresponding virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61  and display the virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61 , respectively, according to exemplary embodiments. 
     In addition, the virtual page processing unit  530  may include a virtual page change determining unit  533  for determining whether the at least one virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61  is changed from a corresponding previous virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61 . And may include a virtual page change transmitting unit  535  to output corresponding update information of a changed virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61 , as may be determined by the virtual page change determining unit  533 , and to selectively transmit the at least one changed virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61  to the source device display unit  700  and to the corresponding sink device  20 ,  40  or  60 , according to exemplary embodiments. 
     Where the virtual page change determining unit  533  determines that the at least one virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61  is changed, the virtual page change transmitting unit  535  may output the update information of the corresponding virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61  to the source device display unit  700  and may selectively transmit the update information of the corresponding virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61  to the respective sink device  20 ,  40  or  60 . For example, the change of the at least one virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61  may be an execution of another application, an editing of the virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61 , such as by generation of an icon, disconnection of the virtual page  21   41  or  61 , a movement to another virtual page, such as from virtual page  21  to virtual page  41 , or the like, for example. The change of the at least one virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61  may be determined according to an input of an update event, for example. 
     Where a disconnection event of the at least one virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61  is input to the virtual page change determining unit  533 , the virtual page change transmitting unit  535  separates the virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61  from the basic page  11 , such as basic page  11   a,    11   b,    11   c  or  11   d,  and releases the connection to the corresponding sink device  20 ,  40  or  60 , according to exemplary embodiments. Accordingly, the source device display unit  700  of the source device  10  may display only the basic page  11 , such as basic page  11   a,    11   b,    11   c  or  11   d,  and may then not display the at least one virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61 , based on the corresponding disconnection event. In addition, the transmission of the frame data for displaying the corresponding virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61  and the corresponding update information to the respective sink device  20 ,  40  or  60  may likewise be stopped, based on the disconnection event. 
     The disconnection event may be provided from the sink device connection determining unit  100 , such as in response to a signal input corresponding to the disconnection event input by a user of the source device  10 , for example. 
     Where the sink device  20 ,  40  or  60  is disconnected, the information about the corresponding virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61  of the respective sink device  20 ,  40  or  60  may be backed up in the internal storage unit of the virtual page generating unit  330 , such as may be provided in conjunction with the memory/storage  14 , for example. The information about the disconnected virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61  as may be stored in the internal storage unit or memory/storage  14  may be used for generating or activating a corresponding virtual page  21 , in a case where the sink device  20  is connected again to the source device  10 . 
     In this regard, after occurrence of a disconnection event, according to exemplary embodiments, the source device  10  may store information to generate a corresponding virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61  as may be transmitted by the source device  10  to a corresponding sink device  20 ,  40  or  60 , where the corresponding sink device  20 ,  40  or  60  is communicatively disconnected from the source device  10 . And the source device  10  may selectively transmit to the at least one sink device  20 ,  40  or  60  frame data corresponding to the stored information for displaying by the at least one sink device  20 ,  40  or  60  the corresponding virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61 , where the corresponding sink device  20 ,  40  or  60  is again communicatively connected to the source device  10 . 
     Where the connection to the sink device  20 ,  40  or  60  is released, the display unit  700  may display only the basic page  11 , such as basic pages  11   a,    11   b,    11   c  or  11   d,  but in a case where the sink device  20 ,  40  or  60  is connected to the source device  10 , the display unit  700  may display the basic page  11 , such as basic pages  11   a,    11   b,    11   c  or  11   d,  or the at least one virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61 , such as according to a user selection implemented by the source device  10 , for example. Also, where the display unit  700  displays the basic page  11 , such as basic pages  11   a,    11   b,    11   c  or  11   d,  it may be possible to move directly to the virtual page  21   41 , or  61 ; and where a virtual page, such as virtual page  21  is displayed, it is possible to move to another virtual page, such as to virtual page  41  or  61 , which may facilitate management of the corresponding at least one sink device  20 ,  40  or  60 , for example. 
     The virtual page moving unit  900  of the source device  10  as may support a screen, such as screen  21   sc,    41   sc  or  61   sc,  to be converted to a corresponding virtual page, such as virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61 , will be described. 
       FIG. 5  is a block diagram showing the virtual page moving unit  900  of  FIG. 1 , according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. 
     The virtual page moving unit  900  may change a screen of the source device display unit  700  so that the source device display unit  700  may display the corresponding virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61  according to a virtual page moving signal generated by the virtual page moving unit  900 , according to exemplary embodiments. Accordingly, where a number of the basic pages  11 , such as basic pages  11   a,    11   b,    11   c  or  11   d,  may be large or where a plurality of virtual pages, such as virtual pages  21 ,  41  or  61 , may be generated, it may be possible to reduce dragging to change screens displayed by the source device display unit  700 , for example. 
     According to exemplary embodiments, the virtual page moving unit  900  may include a shortcut icon Isc (See,  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 7 , for example), and the screen of the source device display unit  700  may be changed to the corresponding virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61 , such as by executing the operation associated with the shortcut icon Isc, according to exemplary embodiments, for example. 
     Also, according to exemplary embodiments, the virtual page moving unit  900  may change a screen of the source device display unit  700  to a corresponding virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61 , such as according to a touch event applied to the source device display unit  700  and implemented by the virtual page moving unit  900 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , the virtual page moving unit  900  according to exemplary embodiments may include a touch event determining unit  910  for determining whether a touch event is input to the source device display unit  700  of the source device  10 . And may include a dragging determining unit  930  for determining a dragging direction where the touch event is input to the source device display unit  700  of the source device  10  as a dragging motion on the source device display unit  700 . And also may include page movement instruction unit  950  for moving to a virtual page corresponding to the dragging direction on the source device display unit  700 . 
       FIG. 6  and  FIG. 7  are schematic diagrams showing examples of moving to a virtual page according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIG. 6 , where dragging is performed at the source device display unit  700  in a first direction D 1 , such as by dragging, rather than executing on, the shortcut icon Isc, or by dragging one or more other screen designators, for example, the screen displayed at the source device display unit  700  is changed to a virtual page  21  corresponding to the first direction D 1 , for example. The virtual page  21  corresponding to the first direction D 1  may be set in advance and stored by the controller/processor  12  in the memory/storage  14 , such as may by associated with the virtual page moving unit  900 , for example. 
     Similarly, referring to  FIG. 7 , where dragging is performed at the source device display unit  700  in the first direction D 1 , such as by dragging, rather than executing on, the shortcut icon Isc, or by dragging one or more other screen designators, for example, the screen displayed at the source device display unit  700  is changed to the virtual page  21  corresponding to the first direction D 1 , and where dragging is performed at the source device display unit  700  in a second direction D 2 , the screen displayed at the source device display unit  700  is changed to a virtual page  41 or  61  corresponding to the second direction D 2 , for example. The virtual page  21  corresponding to the first direction D 1  and the virtual page  41  or  61  corresponding to the second direction D 2  may be set in advance and stored by the controller/processor  12  in the memory/storage  14 , such as may by associated with the virtual page moving unit  900 , for example. 
     According to the source device  10  and systems including the source device  10 , according to exemplary embodiments, since the source device  10  may generate and may manage the virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61  for managing the corresponding communicatively connected sink device  20 ,  40  or  60 , the corresponding virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61  may be displayed at the corresponding sink device  20 ,  40  or  60 , separately from the basic page  11 , such as basic pages  11   a,    11   b,    11   c  or  11   d,  displayed at the source device  10 . 
     In addition, by managing the generated virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61 , managing the corresponding sink device  20 ,  40  or  60  may be likewise facilitated. Furthermore, since the source device display unit  700  of the source device  10  may directly move to the corresponding virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61  and display the corresponding virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61 , efficiency in management of the at least one sink device  20 ,  40  or  60  may also be facilitated. 
       FIG. 8  is a flowchart for illustrating a method for managing at least one sink device  20 ,  40  or  60  by using a source device, such as source device  10 , according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIG. 8 , the source device  10  determines whether an external sink device  20 ,  40  or  60  is communicatively connected to the source device  10 , such as by a wired or wireless connection, for example (S 100 ). 
     The communicative connection of the at least one sink device  20 ,  40  or  60  may be performed according to a wired or wireless connection to the source device  10  or by registering an external device, such as the sink device  20 ,  40  or  60 , by an input of a connection signal to the source device  10 , for example. Where the sink device  20 ,  40  or  60  is communicatively connected to the source device  10 , a connection event may be provided to the source device  10 . 
     In a case where the sink device  20 ,  40  or  60  is communicatively connected to the source device  10 , a virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61  interlinked with the corresponding sink device  20 ,  40  or  60  is generated and connected to the basic page  11 , such as basic pages  11   a,    11   b,    11   c  or  11   d,  for example, (S 200 ). 
     Operation  5200  may include generating the basic page  11 , such as basic pages  11 ,  11   b,    11   c  or  11   d,  whether or not the source device  10  is communicatively connected to the sink device  20 ,  40  or  60 , and may generate the corresponding virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61  interlinked with the connected sink device  20   40  or  60 , and may connect the generated virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61  to the generated basic page  11 , such as basic pages  11   a,    11   b,    11   c  or  11   d,  for example. 
     The source device  10  may output the frame data for displaying the basic page  11 , such as basic pages  11   a,    11   b,    11   c  or  11   d,  and the frame data for displaying the virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61 , and may selectively display one or more of the basic page  11 , such as basic pages  11   a,    11   b,    11   c  or  11   d  or the at least one virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61  (S 300 ) such as on the source device display unit  700 . In addition, the source device  10  may transmit the corresponding frame data for displaying the at least one virtual page  21 ,  41 or  61  to the corresponding sink device  20 ,  40  or  60  (S 350 ). 
     The source device  10  and the sink device  20 ,  40  or  60  may receive and display the frame data for displaying the at least one virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61 . In addition, even when the source device  10  displays the basic page  11 , such as basic pages  11   a,    11   b,    11   c  or  11   d,  the sink device  20 ,  40  or  60  may continuously receive the corresponding frame data for displaying the corresponding virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61  and may display the virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61 . 
     Proceeding to operation  5400 , it is then determined whether the virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61  is changed (S 400 ). For example, the change of the virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61  may result from an execution of another application, an editing of the virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61 , such as may be from generation of an icon, a disconnection of the virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61 , a movement to another virtual page, such as from virtual page  21  to virtual page  41 , or the like. The change of the virtual page  21  may be determined according to an input of an update event, for example, to the source device  10 . 
     Where the virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61  is changed, the corresponding update information of the virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61  is output and displayed on the source device display unit  700  (S 500 ). In addition, the corresponding update information of the virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61  is transmitted to the corresponding sink device  20 ,  40  or  60  (S 550 ). And where the virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61  may not be changed, the process returns to operation S 300  and proceeds as previously described. 
     Where the change of the virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61  is a disconnection of the sink device  20 ,  40  or  60  from the source device  10 , it is determined whether a corresponding disconnection event is input (S 610 ). Where the disconnection event is input, the corresponding virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61  is separated from the basic page  11 , such as basic pages  11   a,    11   b,    11   c  or  11   d,  and the information about the virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61  may be backed up in the internal storage unit, such as may be associated with the memory/storage  14  (S 630 ). Accordingly, the source device  10  may display on the source device display unit  700  only the corresponding basic page  11 , such as basic pages  11   a,    11   b,    11   c  or  11   d,  and may no longer display thereon the corresponding virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61  corresponding to the disconnection event (S 650 ). 
     In addition, where the disconnection event is input to the source device  10 , the connection to the sink device  20   40  or  60 , that corresponds to the disconnection event, is released (S 640 ). Accordingly, the transmission from the source device  10  of the frame data for displaying the corresponding virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61 , as well as corresponding update information to the corresponding sink device  20 ,  40  or  60 , is stopped, based upon the disconnection event being input. And where the disconnection event is not input (S 610 ), the process returns to operation S 300  and proceeds as previously described. 
     Where the change of the virtual page  21  is a page movement, it is determined whether a virtual page moving signal is input, such as may be generated by the virtual page moving unit  900 , for example (S 710 ). As previously described, the virtual page moving signal may be an execution signal of a shortcut icon or a touch event. 
     The determination at operation S 710  for changing the screen to the corresponding virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61  according to the touch event may include determining whether a touch event is input, may determine a dragging direction where the touch event is input (S 730 ), and may move to or display a virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61  corresponding to the dragging direction (S 750 ). Also, as previously described, the virtual page corresponding to the dragging direction may be set in advance, for example. Where a virtual page movement signal is not input, the process returns to operation S 300  and proceeds as previously described. 
     According to the methods according to exemplary embodiments for managing the at least one sink device  20 ,  40  or  60 , such as by using the source device  10 , since the virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61  for managing the corresponding sink device  20 ,  40  or  60  may be generated and managed, a virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61  may be displayed at the corresponding sink device  20 ,  40  or  60 , separately from the corresponding basic page  11 , such as basic pages  11   a,    11   b,    11   c  or  11   d,  displayed at the source device  10 , for example. 
     In addition, by managing the generated at least one virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61 , managing the corresponding sink device  20 ,  40  or  60  may be facilitated in a convenient manner. Furthermore, the source device display unit  700  of the source device  10  may move to the corresponding virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61  and may provide for displaying, in a reduced time, the corresponding virtual page  21 ,  41  or  61 . And, therefore, management efficiency in managing the at least one sink device  20 ,  40  or  60  may be facilitated. 
     According to methods for managing a sink device, and a source device and system, according to exemplary embodiments, a sink device communicatively connected to the source device may be recognized as a separate virtual page so that the virtual page of the corresponding sink device may be managed and displayed independently from the basic page displayed at the source device. 
     Therefore, according to exemplary embodiments, the source device may manage the transmission of the corresponding at least one virtual page to the at least one corresponding sink device independently from one or more of generating or displaying the at least one basic page. In addition, managing of the sink device may be facilitated by providing an icon or dragging to the virtual page. Further, since a relatively rapid movement to the corresponding virtual page may be utilized, a more efficient management of the sink device may be promoted. 
     Also, the exemplary embodiments according to the present invention may be recorded in computer-readable media including program instructions to implement various operations embodied by a computer. The media may also include, alone or in combination with the program instructions, data files, data structures, and the like. The media and program instructions may be those specially designed and constructed for the purposes of the present invention, or they may be of the kind well-known and available to those having skill in the computer software arts. Examples of computer-readable media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tape; optical media such as CD ROM discs and DVD; magneto-optical media such as floptical discs; and hardware devices that are specially configured to store and perform program instructions, such as read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), flash memory, and the like. Examples of program instructions include both machine code, such as produced by a compiler, and files containing higher level code that may be executed by the computer using an interpreter. The described hardware devices may be configured to act as one or more software modules in order to perform the operations of the above-described embodiments of the present invention. 
     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.