Patent Publication Number: US-2015082241-A1

Title: Method for screen mirroring and source device thereof

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) 
     This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) of Korean patent application filed on Sep. 17, 2013 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office and assigned Serial number 10-2013-0112069, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to a method for screen mirroring and a source device thereof. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for mirroring and displaying at least one screen displayed in at least one display device in at least one other display device. 
     BACKGROUND 
     As wired and/or wireless communication networks are developed, electronic devices that display screens to output data visually recognizable by users may be connected to one another through a wired and/or wireless communication network. 
     The electronic devices may transmit and receive various types of data with one another through the wired and/or wireless communication network. A mirroring technique is used to perform remote control and/or sharing between the electronic devices. 
     The mirroring technique refers to a technique for sharing and controlling screen data between apparatuses having display units. For example, according to the mirroring technique, screen data may be shared between Personal Computers (PCs). 
     The mirroring technique is developed to be applied to all types of electronic devices that may output and/or display screens through display units, such as portable computers, such as notebook computers, netbook computers, tablet PCs, or the like, portable terminals, such as smartphones and/or Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), Televisions (TVs), and the like. A mirror service may be provided to apply the mirroring technique to a plurality of electronic devices, thereby sharing screens and performing remote control between the plurality of electronic devices. Techniques for providing the mirroring service include Display as a service (Daas), Miracast, Airplay, etc. 
     Hereinafter, all types of electronic devices that share and display screens to use the mirroring service are referred to as display devices. 
     To provide the mirroring service, image data is transmitted from a device that provides an image to a device that is provided with the image. Here, the device that provides the image may be referred to as a source device and/or a master device, and the device that is provided with the image may be referred to as a sink device and/or a client device. Hereinafter, the device that provides the image is referred to as a source device, and the device that is provided with the image is referred to as the sink device. 
     The mirroring service shares and displays a same screen between a plurality of display devices that are connected to one another through a network. In other words, to provide the mirroring service, the source device transmits a screen displayed therein to the sink device as it is, and the sink device displays the received screen as it is. Therefore, when using the mirroring service, a part of the mirroring screen cannot be changed according to an intention of a user. The mirroring service is not continuously used and stops to change the mirroring screen according to the intention of the user. 
     Therefore, a method and apparatus for elastically and/or dynamically using a mirroring service according to an intention of a user may be provided. 
     The above information is presented as background information only to assist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art with regard to the present disclosure. 
     SUMMARY 
     Aspects of the present disclosure are to address at least the above-mentioned problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantages described below. Accordingly, an aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a method of screen mirroring, which a screen is elastically changed according to an intention of a user when using a mirroring service, and a source device thereof. 
     Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the presented embodiments. 
     In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, a source device is provided. The source device includes a display unit configured to display a first screen, an input unit configured to receive a selection of a first area on the first screen, a controller, configured to, when a mirroring service is executed, process the first area independently of a second area that is an area except the first area in the first screen, and to mirror the first screen reflecting the processing on at least one sink device, and a communicator configured to transmit image data corresponding to the first screen. 
     In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a method for screen mirroring is provided. The method includes mirroring a first screen displayed on at least one source device to display a second screen on at least one sink device, selecting a first area on the first screen, processing the first area independently of a second area that is an area of the first screen except the first area, and displaying the first screen on the at least one source device by reflecting the processing and displaying the second screen on the at least one sink device by mirroring the first screen. 
     Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses various embodiments of the present disclosure 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of certain embodiments of the present disclosure will be more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIGS. 1A and 1B  are block diagrams illustrating a mirroring connection, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIGS. 2A and 2B  are block diagrams illustrating a mirroring connection, according to another embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram illustrating a source device and a sink device, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 4  is a flowchart illustrating a method for screen mirroring, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 5  is a view illustrating detailed operations of a method for screen mirroring, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 6  is a view illustrating an area selection operation of a method for screen mirroring, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIGS. 7A and 7B  are views illustrating an area selection operation of a method for screen mirroring, according to another embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 8  is a view illustrating an area selection operation of a method for screen mirroring, according to another embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIGS. 9A and 9B  are views illustrating an area selection operation of a method for screen mirroring, according to another embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 10  is a flowchart illustrating a method for screen mirroring, according to another embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIGS. 11A and 11B  are views illustrating a menu selection operation and a device selection operation in a method for screen mirroring, according to another embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 12  is a view illustrating detailed operations of a method for screen mirroring, according to another embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIGS. 13A and 13B  are views illustrating detailed operations of a method for screen mirroring, according to another embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIGS. 14A and 14B  are views illustrating detailed operations of a method for screen mirroring, according to another embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 15  is a flowchart illustrating detailed operations of a method for screen mirroring, according to another embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 16  is a flowchart illustrating detailed operations of a method for screen mirroring, according to another embodiment of the present disclosure; and 
         FIG. 17  is a view illustrating detailed operations of a method for screen mirroring, according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     The same reference numerals are used to represent the same elements throughout the drawings. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The following description with reference the accompanying drawings is provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of various embodiments of the present disclosure as defined by the claims and their equivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in that understanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary. Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the various embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions may be omitted for clarity and conciseness. 
     The terms and words used in the following description and claims are not limited to the bibliographical meanings, but are merely used by the inventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the following description of various embodiments of the present disclosure is provided for illustration purpose only and not for the purpose of limiting the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents. 
     It is to be understood that the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “a component surface” includes reference to one or more of such surfaces. 
     A method for screen mirroring and a source device thereof according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to the attached drawings. 
     As described above, a plurality of display devices may be connected to one another to be remotely controlled and shared. 
     The plurality of display devices that use a mirroring service include at least one source device and at least one sink device. The at least one source device and the at least one sink device are connected to each other through a wired and/or wireless communication network. 
     A connection relation between a display device and a plurality of display devices using a mirroring service according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to  FIGS. 1A through 2B . 
     The display device shown in  FIGS. 1A through 2B  may be an electronic device including a display unit, for example, may be a portable computer, such as a notebook computer, a netbook computer, a tablet Personal Computer (PC), or the like, a portable terminal, such as a smartphone or a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a computer, a smart Television (TV), or the like. 
     A source device and a sink device that are hereinafter described are relative concepts, or in other words, “a source device” and “a sink device” are named according a relative relationship between two devices. Therefore, a display device that transmits preset image data may be referred to as a source device, and a display device that receives and mirrors the preset image data may be referred to as a sink device. 
       FIGS. 1A and 1B  are views illustrating a mirroring connection according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1A and 1B , one source device and at least one sink device are connected to each other. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1A , a source device  110  and a sink device  120  are connected to each other in a 1:1 network topology. In detail, the source device  110  is connected to the sink device  120  in a 1:1 network topology through a network  115 . 
     Here, the network  115  is a wired and/or wireless communication network through which data may be transmitted and received. The network  115  may be formed according to various types of communication network standards and/or types, such as Local Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), Third Generation (3G), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Wireless LAN (WLAN), Wireless Broadband (Wibro), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), Near Field Communication (NFC), etc. 
     The source device  110  may display a menu screen for controlling an operation of the source device  110 , a screen for reproducing a picture, or the like. The source device  110  transmits image data corresponding to a currently displayed screen to the sink device  120 . In detail, the source device  110  may transmit image data corresponding to a whole screen that is currently displayed and/or may divide the whole screen to transmit image data corresponding to at least one of the divided screens. 
     The sink device  120  receives image data corresponding to a screen displayed in the source device  110  through the network  115 . The sink device  120  may also decode the image data received from the source device  110  to generate a screen and display the generated screen. 
     In detail, the sink device  120  unitarily or multiply receives the screen displayed in the source device  110 . The sink device  120  may display the same screen as the screen displayed in the source device  110  by using the received image data. In detail, the sink device  120  may display the whole or a part of the screen displayed in the source device  110 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 1B , a source device  130  is connected to a plurality of sink devices  141 ,  142 , and  143  in a 1:n network topology. In detail, the source device  130  is connected to the plurality of sink devices  141 ,  142 , and  143  through a network  135  in a 1:n network topology. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1B , the source device  130  may copy and transmit a whole screen to the plurality of sink devices  141 ,  142 , and  143  and/or may copy and transmit an area of the screen and/or respectively transmit different areas of the screen. 
     Descriptions of the same reference numerals of  1 B as those of  FIG. 1  are omitted. 
       FIGS. 2A and 2B  are block diagrams illustrating a mirroring connection according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 2A and 2B , a plurality of source devices  211 ,  212 , and  213  are connected to a sink device  220 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 2A , the plurality of source devices  211 ,  212 , and  213  are connected to the sink device  220  in an n:1 network topology. In detail, the source devices  211 ,  212 , and  213  are connected to the sink device  220  through a network  215  in the n:1 network topology. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2A , the plurality of source devices  211 ,  212 , and  213  respectively transmit image data to the sink device  220 . The sink device  220  may selectively display a screen corresponding to particular one of a plurality of pieces of image data. The sink device  220  aggregates a plurality of images included in the plurality of pieces of image data to generate one screen and display the generated screen. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2B , a plurality of source devices  231 ,  232 , and  233  are connected to a plurality of sink devices  241 ,  242 ,  243 ,  244 , and  245  in an m:n network topology. In detail, the plurality of source devices  231 ,  232 , and  233  are connected to the plurality of sink devices  241 ,  242 ,  243 ,  244 , and  245  through a network  235  in the m:n network topology. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2B , the plurality of source devices  231 ,  232 , and  233  respectively transmit image data to the plurality of sink devices  241 ,  242 ,  243 ,  244 , and  245 . The plurality of sink devices  241 ,  242 ,  243 ,  244 , and  245  may selectively display a screen corresponding to particular one of a plurality of pieces of image data. The plurality of sink devices  241 ,  242 ,  243 ,  244 , and  245  aggregate a plurality of images included in the plurality of image data to generate one screen and display the generated screen. 
     According to a general mirroring technique, when using a mirroring service, even if a mirroring screen includes a screen that a user does not want to share, the screen may be continuously shared. In other words, if the mirroring screen includes the screen that the user does not want to share when using the mirroring service, the mirroring service pauses not to update a screen of another display device and/or the mirroring service stops. 
     In other words, all types of display devices that use the mirroring service may display the same screen and may not independently and/or respectively control a mirroring screen according to an intention of the user. Therefore, the user has difficulty using the mirroring service. 
     In a method for screen mirroring and a sink device thereof according to an embodiment and another embodiment of the present disclosure, a mirroring screen may be independently and/or respectively changed between display devices that use a mirroring service, according to an intention of the user to increase convenience of the user. A method and apparatus for providing a mirroring service that further match an intention of a user will now be described in detail with reference to  FIGS. 3   
       FIG. 3  is a block diagram illustrating a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The display device according to the present embodiment may be an electronic device that may use a mirroring service through a wireless network as described above, and may be, for example, a source device  310 , a sink device  360 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , one of the source device  310  and/or the sink device  360  may be considered to be the display device. Detailed structures and operations of the source device  310  and the sink device  360  are the same or similar. However, a display device that transmits a mirroring screen is referred to as the source device  310 , and a display device that receives the mirroring screen is referred to as the sink device  360 . 
     As described above with reference to  FIGS. 1A through 2B , the source device  310  and the sink device  360  may be connected to each other in a 1:1 network topology, a 1:n network topology, an n:1 network topology, an m:n network topology, and/or any other similar and/or suitable network topology. 
     In  FIG. 3 , the source device  310  and the sink device  360  are connected to each other in the 1:1 network topology via a network  350 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , the source device  310  includes a controller  315 , a display unit  320 , a communicator  325 , and input unit  330 . The source device  310  may further include a memory  335 . 
     The controller  315  generates image data. In detail, the controller  315  may decode image data, such as still image data or moving picture data, to generate a screen that will be displayed on the display unit  320 . Alternatively, the controller  315  may generate a User Interface (UI) screen or the like. 
     The display unit  320  displays the image data generated by the controller  315 . In detail, the display unit  320  receives a screen corresponding to the image data generated by the controller  314  and outputs the screen through a display panel (not shown). Hereinafter, a screen that is displayed by the display unit  320  and mirrored by the sink device  360  will be referred to as a first screen. In other words, when executing a mirroring service, the display unit  320  displays the first screen. 
     The communicator  325  transmits and receives data to and/or from other connected display devices through a network  350 . In detail, the communicator  325  may transmit the image data generated by the controller  315  to at least one another display device, for example, a communicator  375  of the sink device  360 . 
     The communicator  325  may include a communication module for accessing the network  350  by wired and/or wireless communication. For example, the communicator  325  may include communication module according to communication standard of WLAN Wi-Fi, 3G, LTE, Wibro, World interoperability for microwave access (Wimax), CDMA, WCDMA, or the like. 
     The communicator  325  may include a communication module according to a communication standard of Near Field Communication (NFC). Therefore, if the source device  310  and the sink device  360  are adjacent to each other and/or contact each other by supporting a close connection method, the communicator  325  may transmit and preset data to and/or from the sink device  360 . 
     The input unit  330  receives a request, a command, and/or other data for controlling an operation of the source device  310  from a user. 
     The input unit  330  may be realized as a touch screen. In detail, the input unit  330  may include a touch pad (not shown) that is combined with the display panel (not shown), output the touch screen to the display panel, receive a command through the touch screen, and sense the preset command through the touch pad. 
     For example, if the input unit  330  is realized as the touch screen, the input unit  330  may output a menu screen, which is a UI screen, on the display panel combined with the touch pad. If the user touches a place of the menu screen, for example, a place at which a mirroring service menu is displayed, the input unit  330  senses the touched place. The input unit  330  may transmit sensed information to the controller  315 . 
     The controller  315  may recognize a request and/or command of the user corresponding to a menu displayed at the sensed place and perform the recognized request and/or command. For example, if the place at which the mirroring service menu is displayed, the input unit  330  may transmit information for requesting execution of the mirroring service to the controller  315 . Alternatively, if the input unit  330  transmits position information about the touched place to the controller  315 , the controller  315  may control the source device  310  to sense that a menu corresponding to the position information is the mirroring service menu and may execute the mirroring service. 
     The memory  335  may store various types of data, programs for operating the source device  310 , transmitted and received data, etc. 
     In detail, the memory  335  may store image data that is transmitted when the source device  310  executes the mirroring service. In detail, the memory  335  may store image data of a first area selected from among image data corresponding to the first screen. 
     An operation of executing the mirroring service will now be described. 
     If the mirroring service is requested through the input unit  330 , the controller  315  executes the requested mirroring service. 
     In detail, the controller  315  encodes and multiplexes image data of a currently displayed screen and generates a transmission stream. The communicator  325  transmits the transmission stream generated by the controller  315  to the sink device  360 . 
     The sink device  360  is at least one other display device that is connected to the source device  310  through the network  350 , for example, a display device that mirrors and outputs at least one displayed screen. Hereinafter, a screen that is mirrored and displayed by the sink device  360  will be referred to as a second screen. 
     A detailed operation of the source device  310  according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described later with reference to FIGS. through  17 . 
     The sink device  360  includes a controller  365 , a display unit  370 , the communicator  375 , and an input unit  380  that are the same as and/or similar to the controller  315 , the display unit  320 , the communicator  325 , the input unit  330  in the source device  310 , respectively. The sink device  360  may further include a memory  385 . 
     The controller  365 , the display unit  370 , the communicator  375 , the input unit  380 , and the memory  385  respectively correspond to the controller  315 , the display unit  320 , the communicator  325 , the input unit  330 , and the memory  335 , and thus their repeated descriptions are omitted. 
     The communicator  375  receives at least one image data from at least one display device. In detail, the communicator  375  is connected to the communicator  325  of the source device  320  through the network  350  by wired and/or wireless and receives the image data, including the first screen, from the communicator  325 . 
     The controller  365  generates screen corresponding to at least one of the received image data or a part of the at least one of the received image data. In detail, the controller  365  generates a second screen corresponding to the received image data to mirror at least one image data that is displayed by at least one source device that is at least one another display device, for example, the source device  310 . 
     The controller  365  may mirror a whole screen corresponding to the image data or a part of the screen corresponding to a part of the received image data. Alternatively, if a plurality of pieces of image data corresponding to a plurality of screens are received, the controller  365  combines at least one of the plurality of pieces of image data to generate one screen. 
     The display unit  370  displays the screen generated by the controller  365 . Since the mirroring service is executed, the display unit  370  displays the second screen into which the first screen is mirrored. Hereinafter, the second screen will be described as being the same as the first screen. In detail, the second screen may be the first screen or a screen that is formed by enlarging a part of the first screen. 
     The memory  385  receives and stores transmitted image data when executing the mirroring service with the source device  310 . In detail, the memory  385  may receive image data corresponding to the first screen, and buffer and store first image data. The memory  385  may buffer and store image data corresponding to a first area selected from among image data of the first screen. 
       FIG. 4  is a flowchart illustrating a method for screen mirroring according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , a method  400  according to the present embodiment will now be described with reference to the source device  310  and the sink device  360  of  FIG. 3 . 
     In the method  400 , at least one of the sink device  360  receives at least one image data from at least one of the source device  310 , and mirrors and displays a screen corresponding to at least one of the received image data. Hereinafter, the source device  310  and the sink device  360  are connected to each other in a 1:1 network topology as described with reference to  FIG. 3 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , the method  400  executes a mirroring service. In detail, in operation  410 , a first screen displayed in the at least one source device  310  is mirrored to display a second screen in the at least one sink device  360 . The display unit  320  may display the first screen under control of the controller  315 , and the display unit  370  may display the second screen under control of the controller  365  to perform operation  410 . 
     Operation  410  will now be described in more detail with reference to  FIG. 5 . 
       FIG. 5  is a view illustrating a detailed operation of a method for screen mirroring, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , a tablet PC  510  is shown as a source device, and a smart TV  560  is shown as a sink device. For example, a user may mirror a video lecture played on the tablet PC  510  onto the smart TV  560  to view the video lecture. 
     In  FIG. 5 , the tablet PC  510  and the smart TV  560  respectively correspond to the source device  310  and the sink device  360  of  FIG. 3 , and  FIG. 5  is described with reference to the elements depicted in  FIG. 3 . 
     To execute the mirroring service, the communicator  375  of the sink device  360  receives at least one image data corresponding to a screen displayed by the source device  310  through the network  550 . 
     In detail, the display unit  320  of the source device  310  plays image data, for example, a video lecture. If the mirroring service is requested from the input unit  330  of the source device  310  or the input unit  380  of the sink device  360 , the controller  315  of the source device  310  encodes image data, including a screen of a video lecture that is currently displayed, to generate image data that is to be transmitted to the sink device  360 . The communicator  325  transmits the image data generated by the controller  315  to the communicator  375  of the sink device  360 . 
     The communicator  375  transmits and/or receives the image data and transmits the image data to the controller  365 . The controller  365  decodes the image data to generate a screen that is to be displayed. The display unit  370  displays the screen generated by the controller  365 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , as the mirroring service is executed, a screen  565  of the smart TV  560  mirrors and outputs a screen  515  of the tablet PC  510 . Therefore, a screen  565  and a screen  515  display a same screen as shown in  FIG. 5 . 
     In operation  420 , a first area that is an area included in the first screen displayed by the source device is selected. In detail, the user may select the preset area through the input unit  330  of the source device  510 . The controller  315  may also receive information about the selected preset area. 
     Operation  420  will now be described in more detail with reference to  FIGS. 6 through 10 . 
       FIG. 6  is a view illustrating an area selection operation of a method for screen mirroring, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The view of  FIG. 6  equally corresponds to the view of  FIG. 5 , and a selection of an area is additionally displayed in  FIG. 6  in comparison with  FIG. 5 . 
     In detail, operation  420  may further include an operation (not shown) of sensing a closed loop, i.e. an area, formed by one of a touch pen, a mouse, and a finger, and an operation (not shown) of determining the area formed according to the sensed closed loop. 
     To select the area, the user may touch or drag an area that is to be selected with a finger to draw the closed loop on the first screen. Alternatively, the user may draw the closed loop by using a user input unit, such as a touch pen, a mouse, or the like. In detail, the user may input the closed loop through the input unit  330 . 
     If the user draws a closed loop  610  on the screen  515 , which may also be referred to as a first screen  515 , by using the touch pen, the closed loop  610  corresponding to a drawing motion of the user is displayed on the first screen  515  as shown in  FIG. 6 . In detail, the input unit  330  of the source device  310  may sense a closed loop forming motion of the user and display the closed loop  610  on the first screen  515  in real time. Also, as shown in  FIG. 6 , a formed closed loop  660  may be displayed on the screen  565 , which may also be referred to as a second screen  565 . Therefore, the user may check a selected area with watching the screen  565  of the sink device  560 . 
     Hereinafter, an area selected in operation  420  is referred to as a first area, and an area except the first area on the first screen is referred to as a second area. 
       FIGS. 7A and 7B  are views illustrating an area selection operation of a method for screen mirroring, according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. First screens  701  and  761  are displayed on the source device  310  in  FIG. 7 . The first screens  701  and  761  of  FIG. 7  correspond to the screen  515  of the tablet PC  510  of  FIGS. 5 and 6  that is a source device, and an element for determining a selected area is additionally displayed in  FIG. 7  in comparison with  FIGS. 5 and 6 . 
     If a closed loop  705  is sensed in operation  420 , operation  420  may further include an operation (not shown) of changing and displaying at least one of brightness and color in at least one section of the closed loop  705  on the first screen  701 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 7A , if the user continues a drawing motion to completely form a closed loop  705 , flickering or a highlight  710  may be displayed to allow the user to further easily recognize the closed loop  705 . The closed loop  705  may be highlighted and/or a color of the closed loop  705  may be changed to display the closed loop  705 . 
     In detail, the input unit  330  of the source device  310  may sense the closed loop  705  generated according to a drawing motion of the user and, if the closed loop  705  is formed completely, may generate and display a screen for adding a display for highlighting the closed loop  705 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 7B , if a first area is selected on the first screen  761 , a menu window  770  may be generated and displayed to finally determine a selected preset area. 
     For example, if a closed loop is completely formed on the first screen  761 , the input unit  330  may output the menu window  770  including an area determination menu  771  and a selection cancellation menu  772  as shown in  FIG. 7B . The user may determine a selected area or may cancel and then reset the selected area by using the menu window  770 . 
       FIG. 8  is a view illustrating an area selection operation of a method for screen mirroring, according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. The view of  FIG. 8  corresponds to the view of  FIG. 5 , and a selection of an area is additionally displayed in  FIG. 8  in comparison with  FIG. 5 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 8 , a selection of an area may be performed by using a figure tool without drawing a closed loop as shown in  FIG. 6 . In detail, if an operation such as dragging or the like is input through the input unit  330  after a preset motion, for example, a double click on a mouse, three consecutive touches, or two consecutive touches, a figure for selecting a first area may be automatically displayed and, the user may enlarge or reduce the displayed figure to determine a preset area. 
     For example, if the user double-clicks a center of an area of the first screen  515  that the user wants to select, by using a mouse, a  FIG. 810  for selecting a preset area may be displayed on the first screen  515 . A  FIG. 860 , same as the  FIG. 810  for selecting the first area may be displayed on the second screen  565 . 
       FIGS. 9A and 9B  are views illustrating an area selection operation of a method for screen mirroring, according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. First screens  901  and  961  are screens of a sink device and are illustrated in  FIGS. 9A and 9B . The first screens  901  and  961  of  FIG. 9  correspond to the screen  515  of the tablet PC  510  that is a source device as shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , and an element for determining a selected area is additionally displayed in  FIGS. 8 ,  9 A, and  9 B in comparison with  FIGS. 5 and 6 . 
     Operation  420  may further include an operation (not shown) of displaying at least one figure key for selecting a first area, and an operation (not shown) of moving and enlarging or reducing the figure key to select a designated area as a first area. 
     Referring to  FIG. 9A , a menu  910  including at least one figure key for selecting an area may be displayed on the first screen  901 . 
     For example, the menu  910  may include a diagonal select key  911 , at least one of a figure key  912 , a drawing key  913 , and a move key  914 . In detail, if a diagonal line of an area that is to be selected is designated, the diagonal select key  911  is used to select a square area corresponding to the diagonal line. An area may be drawn with a mouse by using the draw key  913 , and a position of an area formed by the figure key  912  may be moved by using the move key  914 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 9B , a menu for determining an area selected by the figure key  912  may be displayed on the first screen  961 . A menu window  960 , an area determination menu  961 , and a selection cancellation menu  962  of  FIG. 9B  respectively correspond to the menu window  770 , the area determination menu  771 , and the selection cancellation menu  772 , and thus their detailed descriptions are omitted. 
     If the area is selected in operation  420 , the first area is processed independently of a second area that is an area except the first area on the first screen in operation  430 . Operation  430  may be performed by the controller  315 . 
     In operation  440 , the processing of operation  430  is reflected to execute a mirroring service in operation  440 . In detail, the processing of operation  430  is reflected to display the first screen on at least one source device and mirror the first screen on at least one sink device to display the second screen. The first screen may be displayed on the display unit  320  under control of the controller  315 , and the second screen may be displayed on the display unit  370  under control of the controller  365  to perform operation  410 . 
     The processing of operation  430  will be described in more detail later with reference to  FIGS. 10 through 17 . 
     In operation  440 , at least one sink device refers to a display device that is currently connected to or may be connected to a source device  310  that displays the first screen including the selected first area, through a network by wired and/or wireless. For example, the at least one sink device may be set to or automatically connected to a particular device according to setting of the user or a source device. 
     For example, operation  440  may include: when the first screen is updated, an operation of mirroring the first screen to update an area except the first area selected on the second screen in operation  420 , and when the first screen is updated, an operation of not updating an area of the second screen corresponding to the first area. 
       FIG. 10  is a flowchart illustrating a method for screen mirroring, according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. Operations  1010 ,  1020 ,  1070 , and  1080  of  FIG. 10  respectively correspond to operations  410 ,  420 ,  430 , and  440  of  FIG. 4 . Therefore, their repeated descriptions are omitted. Therefore, the method  1000  may be performed by a display device as described with reference to  FIG. 3 . In detail, the method  1000  may be performed by one of the source device  310  and the sink device  360 . Therefore, the method will now be described with reference to  FIGS. 3 through 10 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 10 , the method  1000  includes operations  1010 ,  1020 ,  1030 ,  1040 ,  1070 , and  1080 . The method  1000  may further include operations  1050  and  1060 . 
     In operation  1010 , a first screen that is displayed on at least one source device is mirrored so as to display a second screen on at least one sink device. 
     In operation  1020 , a first area included in the first screen is selected. 
     If a certain area, such as the first area, is selected in operation  1020 , at least one menu for processing a screen of the first area independently of a screen of the second screen is displayed in operation  1030 . In detail, in operation  1030 , a menu screen including at least one of a menu for sharing the screen of the first area, a menu for hiding the screen of the first area, a menu for prohibiting updating of the screen of the first area, a menu for performing writing on the screen of the first area, and a menu for editing the screen of the first area may be displayed on one of at least one source device and at least one sink device. Operation  1030  may be performed by the input unit  330  and the display unit  320  under control of the controller  315 . In detail, the input unit  330  receives the selection of the first area and generates a UI screen including the above-described menus. Here, the display unit  320  may display the UI screen. 
     Here, the at least one source device and the at least one sink device may refer to all types of display devices that are connected to and/or may be connected to the source device  310  that displays the first screen including the first area through a preset network, NFC, or the like by wired and/or wireless communication. 
     The menus displayed in operation  1030  will be described in more detail later with reference to  FIG. 11A . 
     In operation  1040 , one of the menus displayed in operation  1030  is selected. Operation  1040  may be performed through the input unit  330 . 
     If the menu is selected in operation  1040 , operations  1050  and  1060  may be omitted and a display of the first area is processed on the first screen according to the selected menu in operation  1070 . In detail, if the preset menu is selected through the input unit  330 , the controller  315  controls to display the display of the first area according to the selected preset menu. 
     If the menu is selected in operation  1040 , a display of at least one of at least one source device and at least one sink device may be processed according to the selected menu. In detail, if the preset menu is selected through the input unit  330 , the controller  315  may transmit a control signal to at least one of the at least one source device and the at least one sink device to perform the display according to the selected preset menu. 
     If the menu is completely selected in operation  1040 , a device selection menu for selecting at least one of the at least one source device and the at least one sink device is displayed in operation  1050 . Operation  1050  will be described in more detail later with reference to  FIG. 11B . 
     In operation  1060 , at least one device is selected through the device selection menu displayed in operation  1050 . Operations  1050  and  1060  may be performed by the input unit  330  and the display unit  320 . In detail, the input unit  330  may generate a UI screen including menus and receive a selection of a menu. Also, the display unit  330  may display the UI screen for selecting the menu. 
     In operation  1070 , the display of the first area is processed on the first screen according to the selected menu. Also, image data including the first area that is processed according to the menu selected by a device selected in operation  1060  may be transmitted. 
     In operation  1080 , the first screen is displayed on at least one source device and mirrored on at least one sink device to display the second screen according to the menu selected in operation  1040 . 
     Operations  1040  through  1080  of the method  1000  will now be described in detail with reference to  FIGS. 11A through 14B . 
       FIGS. 11A and 11B  are views illustrating a menu selection operation and a device selection operation of a method for screen mirroring, according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.  FIGS. 11A and 11B  illustrate a first screen displayed on a source device  1100 . 
       FIG. 12  is a view illustrating a detailed operation of a method for screen mirroring, according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. A source device  1210  that displays a first screen and a sink device  1220  that displays a second screen respectively correspond to the source device  310  and the sink device  360  of  FIG. 3 . Also, in  FIG. 12 , display devices  1230 ,  1240 , and  1250  may be at least one of a sink device and/or a source device that may be connected to the source device  1220  to display the first screen through a network  1260 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 11A , if a first area is completely selected, the source device  1100  may display a menu list  1115  on a first screen  1110 . In detail, the menu list  1115  may be output in a pop-up window form to display the first screen  1110 . 
     The menu list  1115  may include at least one of a share menu  1120 , a hide menu  1121 , an update prohibit menu  1122 , a write menu  1123 , an edit menu  1124 , and a time machine menu  1125 . 
     The independent process of operation  430  (see  FIG. 4 ) refers to processing performed according to a menu included in the menu list  1115 . Processing performed according to each menu will now be described in detail. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 10 and 11B , if a menu is completely selected, a device selection list  1160  that is a menu for selecting a device may be displayed on a second screen  1150 . The device selection list  1160  includes a list of display devices that are currently connected to and/or may be connected to the source device  1100  through a communication network. For example, display devices such as a Personal Computer (PC)  1161 , a cellular phone  1162 , a TV  1163 , etc. may be included in the device selection menu  1160 . Also, the user may select at least one device from the device selection list  1160  and display a screen on the selected device according to the menu selected in operation  1040 . 
     In detail, the share menu  1120  is used to share a screen of a first area  1130  (see  FIG. 11A ) that is selected with at least one of at least one sink device and at least one source device. In other words, when the first screen  1110  displayed by the source device  1100  is updated, at least one shared device may display the second screen  1150  corresponding to the first area  1130 . Here, the at least one shared device may be a device selected in operation  1060 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 10 and 12 , if the share menu  1120  is selected in operation  1030 , a screen of a first area  1221  may be shared with the display device  1240 . In detail, as shown in  FIG. 12 , the display device  1240  may equally display screen B of the first area  1221 . Here, the display device  1240  may be a sink device or a source device that is connected through a mirroring service. The display device  1240  may also be an electronic device that is connected to the source device  1210  through the mirroring service and/or a display device that may be connected to the source device  1210  through a communication network  1260 . 
     The hide menu  1121  is used to prohibit image data displayed in a first area from being transmitted so that a screen of the first area  1130  included in a first screen  1110  is not shared with another display device. Therefore, if the other display device that may be connected to the source device  310  through a network requests the mirroring service, image data corresponding to a screen except the screen of the first area  1130  of the first screen  1110  is transmitted to the other display device. In this case, the other display device that requests the mirroring service may mirror and/or output a screen of a second area of the source device  310  and/or may not mirror a screen displayed in the first area  1130 . 
     In detail, if the hide menu  1121  is selected in operation  1040 , image data corresponding to a first area of a first screen may be prohibited from being transmitted to another display device. Here, a display device  1250  may be a device selected in operation  1060 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 12 , if the hide menu  1121  is selected in operation  1030 , and the display device  1250  requests the mirroring service, screen A except the first area  1221  may be mirrored and displayed. 
     The update prohibit menu  1122  is used not to update a screen displayed in the first area  1130  of the first screen  1110  displayed on the source device  1100  when the first screen  1110  displayed on the source device  1100  is updated. 
     The update prohibit menu  1122  may be used not to update a screen displayed in an area of a position corresponding to the first area  1130  of a first screen of another display device mirroring the source device  310  when the first screen  1110  displayed on the source device  1100  is updated. In this case, if the update prohibit menu  1122  is selected, the device select menu  1160  may be displayed, and a device that wants to prohibit updating of an area may be selected by using the displayed device select menu  1160 . In this case, an area of a screen that is displayed on the selected device and corresponds to the first area  1130  may display a screen of the first area  1130 , and another screen mirrors and updates the first screen  1110 . Here, the source device  1100  may transmit a mirroring screen including the first area  1130  that is not updated by the selected device. 
     The update prohibit menu  1122  may be used not to update a screen of another display device that mirrors the source device  310  when the first screen  1110  displayed on the source device  1100  is updated. In this case, if the update prohibit menu  1122  is selected, the device select menu  1160  may be displayed, and a device that wants to prohibit updating of a screen may be selected by using the displayed device select menu  1160 . In this case, the screen of the selected device is not updated by mirroring the first screen  1110 , and a screen of the first area  1130  that is not updated may be displayed. Here, the source device  310  may transmit image data of the first area  1130  to the selected device, and the selected device displays the screen of the first area  1130  that is not updated, by using the image data of the first area  1130 . 
     An operation of the update prohibit menu  1122  will now be described in more detail with reference to  FIGS. 13A and 13B . 
       FIGS. 13A and 13B  are views illustrating a detailed operation of a method for screen mirroring, according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     Referring to  FIG. 13A , a screen  1310  is displayed by the source device  310  at a time t1, and a screen  1320  is displayed by the source device  310  at a time t2. 
     Referring to  FIG. 13B , a screen  1330  is displayed by the sink device  360  at the time t1, and a screen  1340  is displayed by the sink device  360  at the time t2. 
     If the update prohibit menu  1122  is selected, and a device is selected through the device selection list  1160 , the screens  1330  and  1340  may be screens that are respectively output through the selected device at the times t1 and t2. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 10 ,  13 A and  13 B, the source device  310  displays the screen  1310  at the time t1, and the sink device  360  that is connected to the source device  310  through the network  350  mirrors the screen  1310  to display the screen  1330  in operation  1010 . Therefore, the screens  1310  and  1330  display the same screen. 
     In operation  1020 , a first area  1311  displayed on the screen  1310  is selected. In operation  1040 , the update prohibit menu  1122  may be selected. The first area  1311 , which has been selected, may be displayed on the screen  1330 . 
     The screen  1310  is updated at the time t2, subsequent to the time t1, and thus the screen  1320  is displayed at the time t2. 
     The source device  310  does not update the first area  1311 , but updates and displays a screen of another area. Therefore, the screen  1320  displayed at the time t2 includes a screen of an area  1321  that is not updated. 
     A screen of the sink device  360  mirrors a screen of the source device  310 , and thus the screen  1340  is updated according to the screen  1320 . Here, if the sink device  360  is selected as a device that is to execute an update prohibit menu, an area  1341  may not be updated, and a screen displayed in an area  1331  at the time t1 may be maintained. 
     The write menu  1123  is used to display a write input of the user on a screen of the first area  1130  included in the first screen. The write menu  1123  may also be used to display a write input on the screen of the first area  1130  that is not updated and is described in the update prohibit menu  1122 . 
     An operation of the write menu  1123  will now be described in more detail with reference to  FIGS. 14A and 14B . 
       FIGS. 14A and 14B  are views illustrating a detailed operation of a method for screen mirroring, according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     Referring to  FIG. 14A , a screen  1410  is displayed by the source device  310  at the time t1, and a screen  1420  is displayed by the source device  310  at the time t2 subsequent to the time t1. 
     Referring to  FIG. 14B , a screen  1430  is displayed by the sink device  360  at the time t1, and a screen  1440  is displayed by the sink device  360  at the time t2. 
     If the write menu  1123  is selected, and a device is selected through the device selection list  1160 , the screens  1430  and  1440  may be respectively output through the selected device at the times t1 and t2. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 10 ,  14 A and  14 B, the source device  310  displays the screen  1410  at a time t1, and the sink device  360  that is connected to the source device  310  through the network  350  mirrors the screen  1410  to display the screen  1430  in operation  1010 . Therefore, the screens  1410  and  1430  display the same screen. 
     In operation  1020 , an area  1411  displayed on the screen  1410  is selected. In operation  1040 , the write menu  1123  may be selected. A write input of the user may be displayed on the area  1411 . 
     The screen  1410  is updated at the time t2, subsequent to the time t1, and thus the screen  1420  is displayed at the time t2. 
     As shown in  FIG. 14A , the source device  310  may not update the area  1411  on which the write input is displayed and may update a screen of a second area, the second area excluding the first area, to display the screen  1420 . 
     Since a screen of the sink device  360  mirrors a screen of the source device  310 , the screen  1440  is updated according to the screen  1420 . If the write menu  1123  is selected, and the sink device  360  is selected on a device select menu, a write input of the user displayed in an area  1441  may not be updated, but may be maintained on the screen  1440  displayed by the sink device  360  so as to continue to display information included in an area  1431  shown on the screen  1430 . 
     The edit menu  1124  is used to edit the screen of a selected first area. In detail, the edit menu  1124  is used to perform works, such as a position movement, an area size adjustment, an area shape adjustment, an existing area deletion, etc., with respect to the first area  1130  selected by the user. If the edit menu  1124  is selected, a tool bar for editing may be subsequently displayed. For example, the tool bar may be adjacent to the first area  1130  in a pop-up window form. 
     In detail, the position movement work is to move a position of the first area  1130  selected by the user on the first screen  1110 . The area size adjustment work is to adjust a size of a selected area. A motion of rotating an area selected through various gestures of the user, such as a multi-touch, etc., may be performed. The area shape adjustment work is to modify a shape of a preset area into various shapes of figures. 
     If the first area  1130  is edited by the edit menu  1124 , menus included in the menu list  1115  may be executed. For example, after the first area  1130  is edited, the first area  1130  may be shared or may be prohibited from being updated. 
     The time machine menu  1125  is used to perform time shifting onto a screen played at a previous preset time to play the first area  1130  selected in operation  1020 . Processing performed according to the time machine menu  1125  will now be described in detail with reference to  FIGS. 15 and 16 . 
       FIG. 15  is a flowchart illustrating a detailed operation of a method for screen mirroring, according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. In detail,  FIG. 15  is a flowchart illustrating an operation of executing a time machine menu in a source device. Operations  1510  and  1520  of  FIG. 15  respectively correspond to operations  410  and  420  of  FIG. 4 , and thus their detailed descriptions are omitted. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 3 ,  11 , and  15 , in operation  1530 , the memory  335  of the source device  310  stores image data displayed in a first area. In detail, the memory  335  may store the image data displayed in the first area for a preset time. Alternatively, the memory  335  may store the image data displayed in the first area when a user executes a mirroring service. 
     In operation  1540 , the controller  315  determines whether the time machine menu  1125  is selected. If the time machine menu  1125  is selected to request the time machine menu  1125  to be executed in operation  1540 , then, in operation  1550 , the controller  315  displays the first area as a screen of a preset previous time by using the image data of the first area stored in the memory  335 . The first area screen of the preset previous time may be displayed on the display unit  335 . Alternatively, the first area screen of the preset previous time may be mirrored to be displayed on the display unit  370  of the sink device  360 . 
       FIG. 16  is a flowchart illustrating a detailed operation of a method for screening, according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     Referring to  FIG. 16 , a flowchart illustrating an operation of executing a time machine menu in a sink device is illustrated. Operations  1620  and  1630  of  FIG. 16  respectively correspond to operations  410  and  420  of  FIG. 4 , and thus their d 
     In operation  1610 , the controller  315  of the source device  310  transmits image data corresponding to a first screen to the sink device  360  to execute a mirroring service. 
     In operation  1620 , the controller  315  executes the mirroring service by using the transmitted image data. In operation  1630 , a first area is selected on the source device  310 . 
     In operation  1640 , image data that is received from the memory  385  of the sink device  360  and displayed in the first area may be stored. 
     In operation  1650 , the controller  315  determines whether the time machine menu  1125  is selected. If the time machine menu  1125  is requested to be executed in operation  1650 , the controller  365  of the sink device  360  displays the first area as a screen of a previous time by using the image data stored in the memory  385  in operation  1660 . 
     For example, if the user does not determine and/or view preset contents when using a mirroring service, the controller  365  may return to and play a screen played within a preset time by using the time machine menu  1125 . For example, if a student misses contents written on a blackboard by a lecturer when listening to a video lecture, the student that is a user may review the contents written on the blackboard by using the time machine menu  1125 . 
       FIG. 17  is a view illustrating a detailed operation of a method for screen mirroring, according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 3 ,  11 , and  17 , if a time machine menu is executed, the source device  310  and/or the sink device  360  displays a screen. 
     A preset area  1730  of  FIG. 17  corresponds to the first area  1130  of  FIG. 11 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 17 , if a time machine function is requested for the preset area  1730 , a time table play menu  1740  is displayed on a screen  1710 . A user may control the time table play menu  1740  to re-display a screen of a first area displayed at a preset previous time. A mark  1720  indicating that the time machine function is being performed may be displayed on the screen  1710 . 
     As described above, according to the one or more of the above embodiments of the present disclosure, in a method for screen mirroring and a source device thereof, a screen mirrored when using a mirroring service may be changed and used according to an intention of a user. Therefore, the mirroring service may be variously used according to the intention of the user. 
     In addition, other embodiments of the present disclosure can also be implemented through computer readable code/instructions in/on a medium, e.g., a computer readable medium, to control at least one processing element to implement any above described embodiment. The medium can correspond to any medium/media permitting the storage and/or transmission of the computer readable code. 
     The computer readable code may be recorded and/or transferred on a medium in a variety of ways, with examples of the medium including recording media, such as magnetic storage media, e.g., a Read Only Memory (ROM), floppy disks, hard disks, etc., and optical recording media, e.g., Compact Disk (CD)-ROMs, and/or Digital Versatile Disks (DVDs), and transmission media such as Internet transmission media. Thus, the medium may be such a defined and measurable structure including or carrying a signal or information, such as a device carrying a bitstream according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. The media may also be a distributed network, so that the computer readable code is stored/transferred and executed in a distributed fashion. Furthermore, the processing element could include a processor and/or a computer processor, and/or any other similar and/or suitable hardware elements capable of processing information, and processing elements may be distributed and/or included in a single device. 
     While the present disclosure has been shown and described with reference to various embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.