Patent Publication Number: US-2003224807-A1

Title: Method and apparatus for control of presentation equipment

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001] 1. Field of the Invention  
       [0002] The present invention relates generally to an apparatus and method for operation and control of presentation equipment, such as conference room and meeting room equipment, in particular, using wireless network technology.  
       [0003] 2. Description of the Related Art  
       [0004] Conference rooms and meeting rooms provide important focus points for today&#39;s business. During meetings in such conference rooms and meeting rooms, loudspeaker systems, overhead projectors and video projectors, projection screens, white boards, black boards, and other technical equipment are often used. Prior to conducting the meetings, extensive wiring and set up is required in order to prepare for presentations and the like. Display equipment must be set up and tested before each presentation and is taken down after the presentation. Presenters may use small computers, such as laptop or notebook-type computers which are connected to the display equipment, for example to the video projector. However, such small computers have only limited numbers and types of connections which can be made, thus limiting the type of cabling which may be utilized to connect to presentation equipment.  
       [0005] During a presentation, the presenter, or speaker, may have to activate microphones, operate light controls, and even close window shades. Performing these tasks, particularly in a darkened conference room, presents challenges to even the best presenters and interferes with an effective presentation. These tasks are even more difficult for disabled persons.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006] A presentation system for operation and control of presentation equipment in, for example, conference rooms and meeting rooms includes a wireless network communication link between a presenter&#39;s computer and the conference room equipment used by the presenter to conduct the presentation. The presenter&#39;s computer may be a desktop, laptop or notebook computer, handheld computer, personal data assistant, portable handheld device, mobile telephone, or other electronic device. Wireless network communications are provided between, for example, the presenter&#39;s computer and the lights, projectors, sound systems, projection screens, display boards and/or window shades in the conference room, as may be necessary in the particular presentation setting, to provide control of these technical devices. In additional examples, the presenter&#39;s computer may wirelessly connect to laptop or notebook computers, mobile personal computers, handheld computers, personal data assistants, mobile telephones, or other electronic devices of attendees for the meeting. 
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
     [0007]FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a conference room showing technical equipment for use in a presentation within the conference room, the technical equipment being interconnected by wireless networking;  
     [0008]FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the steps for logging a device onto the wireless network;  
     [0009]FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating communication pathways between a presenter, and attendee, and a projector during a communication handover; and  
     [0010]FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the steps of a communication handover as shown in FIG. 3. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
     [0011] The following detailed description of preferred embodiments illustrates the exemplary embodiments of the invention without limitation to the scope of the claims.  
     [0012] In FIG. 1, a conference room  10  is shown schematically. The present invention is applicable to conference rooms, meeting rooms, auditoriums, theaters, meeting halls, banquet halls, or any other facility or gathering place. The conference room  10  or other facility provides a location for the gathering of persons, referred to here as attendees, to hear and/or see the presentation of one or more presenters, or speakers. The presenter may wish to enhance the presentation by use of audio and/or visual materials, which may be presented on overhead projectors, slide projectors, movies projectors, video projectors, over loudspeakers and microphones, possibly using black boards or white boards, video screens, projection screens, or other equipment. The presenter may also seek to control the lights in the conference room or facility, raising or dimming the lights (or shutting them off altogether) as necessary, and may seek to control environmental aspects of the facility, including heating and/or air conditioning, and air circulation. If the conference room has windows, the presenter may wish to control the window shades as well. Screens, such as projection screens, may be raised and lowered by the presenter.  
     [0013] In this regard, the presenter has a computer  12 , shown here as a notebook computer, although other types of computers and electronic devices are also possible. The presenter&#39;s computer  12  has a wireless network interface, indicated at  14 . In one embodiment, the wireless interface  14  is provided for a notebook computer or personal computers with an external PCMCIA card interface so that the computer  12  is wireless enabled. Other types of wireless communication connections are, of course, possible and are within the scope of the present invention. A microphone  16  is also provided that is connected to the presenter&#39;s computer  12 . The presenter&#39;s computer  12  includes a display  18 , such as a flat screen display or a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube).  
     [0014] The conference room  10  has a wireless network connection  20  connected to a wireless gateway  22 . The wireless gateway  22  is connected to controllers  24  over a network bus  26 . The controllers  24  are connected for control of lighting, as indicated at  28 , and HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning equipment), as indicated at  30 , for the conference room  10 . A controller  24  may be provided for a remotely controlled projection screen  32  or this could be for an electronic white board, as well. A controller  24  is also provided for the window shades  34 , permitting the shades to opened or closed.  
     [0015] As such, the presenter may control the lighting  28 , heating and air conditioning equipment  30 , and other equipment within the conference room or affecting the conference room through the presenter&#39;s notebook computer  12 .  
     [0016] The conference room  10  has audio/visual equipment for use during the presentation, including a projector  38  and speakers  40 . A wireless interface  42  is provided for the projector  38  and speakers  40  so that the presenter, through the presenter&#39;s notebook  12 , can control the information being displayed through the projector  38  and being played through the speakers  40 . Presentation software is well known for preparing and displaying audio/visual material through a video projector connected to a computer. According to the present embodiment, this presentation can now be carried out via the wireless communication link between the presenter&#39;s computer  12 , on the one hand, and the projector  38  and speakers  40 , on the other hand.  
     [0017] In addition to the equipment for facilitating the presentation and for controlling the environmental aspects of the facility, the attendees of the conference or meeting may have laptop or notebook-type computers, personal data assistants, or other electronic devices. The computers of the attendees are represented in FIG. 1 by notebook computer  44 . According to an aspect of the invention, the computers  44  of the attendees are provided with wireless communication devices  46  so that the attendees may view the presentation materials on their own computers  44 . The attendees may receive on their computers  44  the same data being sent to the projector  38  by the presenter, or the attendees&#39; computers  44  may be used instead of a projector  38 . The presenter may also cause the presenter&#39;s computer  12  to provide different information to the attendees&#39; computers  44  than is being displayed with the projector  38 .  
     [0018] The attendees&#39; computers  44  also have microphones  48  so that the attendees can participate in the presentation. An attendee wishing to ask a question, make a statement, or show the attendees own material may do so using the wireless network communications. First, the attendee must make a request to the presenter for access to the presentation equipment, such as the speakers  40  and projector  38 . The presenter may then turn over the floor, so to speak, to the attendee, who may now speak to the other attendees using the speakers  40  and the attendee&#39;s own microphone  48 . This communication link by the attendee is temporary and controlled by the presenter, so that the presenter can regain control over the presentation and the technical equipment as desired.  
     [0019] Where reference is made herein to the presenter, this reference also includes the possibility that the computer designated as the presenter&#39;s computer may be operated by the presenter&#39;s assistants, or by members of the staff or employees of the conference center, or by other persons. The reference to the presenter&#39;s computer does not refer to ownership, but only to use or operation of the device. Likewise, references to the attendees&#39; computers does not imply ownership but merely use for purposes of attending the conference. As such, it is anticipated that a conference center may be provided with computers for at least some of the attendees&#39; use and even for the presenter&#39;s use. The environment and audio/visual equipment noted herein are provided as examples, and other equipment is possible and within the scope of this invention.  
     [0020] Thus, the time and expense of wiring conference rooms and meeting rooms for meetings, presentations and talks is avoided; the equipment needed for the presentation is connected by a wireless communication network to the computer or other device of the presenter. The wireless network is preferably a short range, low power, radio network, such as a wireless Personal-Area Network (PAN), wireless Local Area Network (LAN), or wireless UltraWideBand Network (UWB). These are provided only as examples, and other communication connections are also possible.  
     [0021] According to a preferred embodiment, a wireless communication system is provided to interconnect all of the devices in the conference room or meeting room using, for example, a type of Personal-Area Network (PAN) known as Bluetooth technology, or using communications according to the IEEE draft standards section 802.11a or 802.11b protocols. These use unlicenced frequency bands over relatively short distances to replace serial and USB cables. Using Bluetooth technology, a serial port profile is provided for all connections. A similar approach is provided for communications according to the section 802.11a or section 802.11b standards. Other network models may be used according to the invention, including both wireless and wired networks.  
     [0022] The wireless network permits properly equipped mobile electronic devices, such as portable computers, mobile phones and personal electronic devices, that enter the network coverage area to be logged onto the network. In this way, attendees entering a conference room or other meeting area with their mobile electronic devices have the mobile electronic devices logged onto the communications network while the devices are on. The mobile electronic devices of the attendees are logged on to the network in the attendee mode, permitting receipt of information transmitted by the presenter onto the attendees&#39; mobile electronic devices.  
     [0023] Depending upon the services available, a wireless network is established, monitored and controlled. In a preferred embodiment, multi-speaker conferencing systems are controlled using Bluetooth enabled speaker phones and headsets.  
     [0024] As a further aspect, operations are automated depending upon real time events. For example, light switches are switched on and off automatically at the start and stop of the presentation. Window shades are set to close when the presentation starts, and equipment used for different parts of the presentation is set to become active at the appropriate moment. These events are programmed into the presentation software, just as the sequential display of images or playing of sounds is programmed by the presenter.  
     [0025] The presenter may choose to utilize special visual and/or audio effects in the presentation, and these are controlled by the presenter&#39;s computer as well. For example, special effects lighting, spot lighting, laser displays, sound effects, animated displays, robotic displays, atmospheric effects such as fog or mist machines, and other theatrical effects may be linked via the present wireless network for operation by the presenter, or by others.  
     [0026] Once the equipment, such as the conference room equipment and the computers, is powered on, the equipment enters services supported by the equipment in a service discovery protocol (SDP) database. All services will be entered as a universal unique identification (UUID) as specified in the Bluetooth specification 1.1.  
     [0027] A service entry in the SDP (service discovery protocol) database for the projector or display device is a video service (VD_service) and/or an audio service (AD_service). A service entry in the SDP database for notebook or laptop personal computers (PCs) is a conference automation service (CAUTO_service). The service entry in the SDP database for lighting and comfort equipment is light service (LGT_service) and temperature service (TEMP_service).  
     [0028] According to the invention, modes are defined including the mode for presenter and the mode for attendee. These modes are recognized by the master network. The presenter acts as the master of the network. Devices and services supported by the network are available to the master. The attendees do not have the ability to control the devices and services supported by the network while logged into the network in the attendee mode. Supported services are stored in a storage apparatus, such as, for example a network server or the presenter&#39;s computer, and are shared by all devices participating in the network.  
     [0029] The present embodiment utilizes an AD HOC network formation. Depending upon the services available on the network, connections will be made to the corresponding equipment. For example, if the projector or the video service is not available in the network, the presenter&#39;s data will be sent to all of the attendee&#39;s notebook computers  44 . If a projector or a video service is available, the presenter&#39;s data will be sent to the projector  38  and in turn displayed on a large screen in the conference room. Checking of the availability of the services is done periodically. Service availability or unavailability is reported to a storage apparatus, that is for example in the network server or the presenter&#39;s computer  12 , and to all of the devices in the network.  
     [0030] According to an aspect of the present invention, new devices may be added into the wireless network by bringing device into the proximity of the network without requiring that the network operation be halted and without interruption of the current presentation. Conversely, devices leaving the network area are logged off the network. This applies to the presentation equipment, such as the video projector, as well as to the mobile electronic devices of the attendees. It is foreseen that the coming and going of the attendees will result in more frequent logging on and logging off of attendees&#39; computers to the network than for logging on and off of the presentation equipment.  
     [0031] The present invention utilizes wireless network technology, such as Bluetooth wireless technology to provide a presentation automation. The presentation automation supports transferring of a presenter&#39;s data to a projector. If a projector service is available, then the presenter, who is a participant of the conference identified as a presenter by a presenter mode, is able to send data to the projector. If the projector service is not available, then the data is sent to all of the participants in the conference. The participant who has the presenter mode set is connected as well to the lighting and temperature control devices.  
     [0032] In the following is described a subsystem for a presentation manager that is present within the presentation automation system. The presentation manager provides two tasks, namely network formation and data transfer. In the network formation function, the equipment is powered on and is required to enter services supported by the equipment in a service discovery protocol (SDP) database. The services are entered as universal unique identifications (UUID) as specified according to the Bluetooth specification 1.1. The services entered in the SDP database for the projector are referred to as video service and audio service. The service entry for the notebook computers is the presentation automation service while the service entry for lighting and comfort equipment is light service and temperature service.  
     [0033] The data transfer operation of the present invention provides a module which is responsible for the smooth flow of the presentation. During the presentation, data on a presenter&#39;s laptop computer screen  18  is captured and put into a file. Later, the file is sent over the Bluetooth link, for example, to the projector or to the attendees&#39; computers. The presentation manger is also responsible for all of the requests for a change in the role of presenter. By proper hand shaking operation, the role of presenter and attendee can be exchanged. The procedures and algorithms to be followed are shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.  
     [0034] In FIG. 2, a method for determining the role of a participant at a conference begins at  50  and gets the mode of the participant, actually the mode of the participant&#39;s computer, at step  52 . A determination is made at  54  as to whether the participant is a presenter. If not, the apparatus goes to a discoverable mode at  56 , where it is discovered by the presenter, and waits for a connection event at  58 . The participant is assigned the role of attendee, with a corresponding limitation on the control authorization that applies to that mode. If the participant has been determined at  54  to be a presenter, a discovery step is performed to determine what devices are available to the presenter&#39;s computer. The step of performing a device discovery is performed at  62  in order to discover each of the devices in the range of the presenter. That is, in the discovery mode, the presenter&#39;s computer discovers all of the devices with which it can communicate during the presentation. Then, the device class for each device is obtained at  64  and the services supported by each device is obtained at  66 . The devices that have been discovered, the classes of each discovered device, and the services that these devices provide are stored in the supported services database at  68 . If video services are available at  70 , a connection is made to the device supporting the video service at step  60 . If no video service is available, a connection is made at  72  for sending data directly to all attendees&#39; computers  44 .  
     [0035] Following connections to a device supporting video service at  60 , an inquiry is made at  74  as to whether an audio service is available. If not, the process skips the next step. Alternately, the audio service may be transmitted to the attendees&#39; computers. However, if an audio service is available, a connection is made at  78  to the device supporting the audio service, i.e. a loudspeaker system. Thereafter, an inquiry at  80  is made as to whether lighting and comfort control—i.e. temperature control—services are available. If they are, the connections are made at  82  to the presenter&#39;s computer. If not, however, the connection step is skipped. The process is stopped at  76 , having set up the presenter&#39;s computer for operation of the presentation equipment for use by the presenter. The presentation may then begin.  
     [0036] Of course, these steps are shown only by way of example, and other devices and services may be added or substituted for those shown here. For example, a step to check for window shades, or electronic whiteboards, or special effects lighting, may be provided.  
     [0037] Referring to FIG. 3, an exchange of roles between the presenter and an attendee is illustrated. The presenter using the presenter&#39;s computer  12  is transferring data corresponding to the presenter&#39;s computer screen  18  to a projector  38  as shown at  90 . An attendee of the conference makes a request via the attendee&#39;s computer  44  to the presenter, through the presenter&#39;s computer  12 , for a role change as shown at  92 . The presenter, through the presenter&#39;s computer  12 , then issues a command to the projector  38  to stop the presentation at  94 , thereafter acknowledging the role change to the attendee at  96  by sending the appropriate instruction from the presenter&#39;s computer to the attendee&#39;s computer. The attendee then is able to provide data directly to the projector  38  and the speakers  40  from the attendee&#39;s computer  44 . Following the attendee&#39;s use of the projector  38 , the presenter (the original presenter) un-acknowledges the role change as shown at  98 , switching the presenter operation back to the original presenter whereupon the presenter continues to transfer screen data to the projector  38  as shown at  100 .  
     [0038] The roll change is preferably only for purposes of access to the audio and/or video equipment by the attendee, but also transfers control to the attendee for the lights, temperature, window shades and the like. Such a roll change may be termed a hard roll change. Alternately, control over the lights, temperature, windows shades and like devices is retained by the presenter in what may be termed a soft roll change. Such a soft roll change involves only a hand over of control of the audio and video equipment. It is also foreseen that the temporary handover may permit the attendee and the presenter to both access the loudspeaker system so that both could be heard during a question and answer session.  
     [0039] In FIG. 4, the process of switching roles is illustrated in a flow chart, where following a start at  102  a request is received by the presenter at  104 . A determination is made at  106  as to whether a response has been received. If no response is received, the presenter is not available or is not responding at  108  and the process is stopped at  110 . On the other hand, if the response is received, an inquiry is made at  112  as to whether the response is acknowledged by the presenter. If not, the process is stopped at  110 . On the other hand, if the request is acknowledged, the connections are made at  114  and the presentation by the attendee is started at  116 .  
     [0040] The temporary handover of the presenter and attendee roles described above may be applied to wired networks as well. In that regard, many further aspects of the present invention may find utility in wired and wireless communications of various types, including mobile telephones, personal data assistants, and others.  
     [0041] Thus, the wireless network interface between the presenter&#39;s notebook, laptop, or other portable personal computer, to display equipment such as video projectors, overhead projectors and white boards, to audio equipment such as microphones and speakers, as well as to environmental equipment such as light controls, window blind controls, and even the thermostat control of the meeting room or conference room enables the presenter to control each of these devices through the presenter&#39;s computer without the presenter having to move around in the conference room to operate or make changes in the settings on the devices. For example, the presenter operates the presenter&#39;s computer to control the window shades to close, to dim the room lights, to lower a projection screen and to begin showing a video presentation projected by a video projector. The volume control of the sound system is adjustable by the presenter and the presenter may speak to the audience through the microphone connected to the presenter&#39;s computer. The presenter may even adjust the temperature control in the room to prevent the room from becoming too warm due to the presence of many attendees. During the question and answer part of the presentation, the presenter may raise the room lights and activate an electronic white board as an aid to understanding. An attendee of the conference may request control of the projector. This request may be acknowledged by the presenter and control of the projector may be turned over to the attendee, whereupon the roles of presenter and attendee are changed.  
     [0042] A single point interface is provided for monitoring and controlling all of the equipment in the conference room. This provides particular advantage for presenters working in darkened rooms and especially for disabled persons making presentations. Meetings can even be conducted utilizing video displays even where no video projectors are available, for example, by displaying video from a presenter&#39;s equipment to the notebook computers of the attendees in the meeting room.  
     [0043] The present invention provides utility in meeting rooms, conference rooms, conference halls, display halls, theaters, and other public gathering places.  
     [0044] As a further feature, a recording means may be connected to the wireless network and/or to at least one of the conference equipment devices to permit the conference proceedings to be recorded. In this way, the participation of the presenter and any attendees who are permitted access to the equipment is available for review later. Yet another aspect is that the conference proceedings may be transmitted to a remote location so that attendees in, for example, another city, may experience the presentation including the input from the attendees. This remote transmission may be over telephone lines, Internet communications, or otherwise.  
     [0045] Thus, there have been shown and described a method and apparatus for enabling wireless communication and setup of meeting room and conference room equipment and centralized control of the conference room through a presenter&#39;s notebook computer, for example. Attendees at the conference may temporarily take over control of display equipment, such as a video projector, following a request by the attendee of the presenter. Setup and take down of conference room equipment is thus simplified.  
     [0046] Although other modifications and changes may be suggested by those skilled in the art, it is the intention of the inventors to embody within the patent warranted hereon all changes and modifications as reasonably and properly come within the scope of their contribution to the art.