The present disclosure generally relates to the exchange of data between mobiles devices, and in particular, is related to a method for activating a multi-user mode between such mobile devices.
This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art, which may be related to various aspects of the present disclosure that are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
With the development of mobile multimedia devices (such as smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, etc.), a huge amount of data may be stored on such mobile devices. Users are more and more eager to share their own data with other persons and, in particular, when they are near to each other.
To this end, it is already known to pair mobile devices together through a peer to peer connection supported, for instance, by the Bluetooth protocol (a proprietary open wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances). Paired mobile devices—forming a personal area network—are able to share and exchange information between themselves. Such a direct pairing requires the use of PIN code: the users of each mobile device must enter a PIN code. The pairing is only successful if both mobile devices enter the same PIN code.
Nevertheless, PIN code errors commonly lead to unsuccessful pairing. In addition, such a direct pairing process is time consuming and appears not to be user friendly.
The present disclosure addresses at least some of the above mentioned drawbacks. An alternative way for exchanging information between mobile devices is needed.
To this end, the present disclosure concerns a method for activating a multi-user mode, at a processing equipment configured to be located in at least one network, between mobile devices configured to be arranged within said at least one network,
in that it comprises, at the processing equipment:
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the reception of the first multi-user mode notification can trigger a timer at the processing equipment, so that the multi-user mode between the first and further mobile devices is activated when the further multi-user mode notification is received before the end of a time period associated with said timer.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the position criterion can be met when a difference between the position of the first mobile device with the position of the further mobile device is equal or lower than a position threshold.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the orientation criterion can be met when a difference between the orientation of the first mobile device with the orientation of the further mobile device is equal or lower than an orientation threshold.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, said method can further comprise:
In addition, the acknowledgment notifications can comprise an identifier of each mobile device for which the multi-user mode is activated.
The present disclosure also concerns a processing equipment configured for activating a multi-user mode between mobile devices adapted to be arranged within at least one network. Said processing equipment comprises:
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the multi-user mode module can further comprise a timer which is triggered upon receipt of a first multi-user mode notification from the first mobile device,
so that the multi-user mode between the first and further mobile devices is activated when a further multi-user mode notification from said further mobile device is received before the end of a time period of associated with the timer.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the multi-user module can further comprise a position comparator configured to determine the difference between the position of the first mobile device with the position of the further mobile device and to compare the determined difference of positions with a position threshold,
so that the position criterion is met when the determined difference of positions is equal or lower than the position threshold.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the multi-user module can further comprise an orientation comparator configured to determine the difference between the orientation of the first mobile device with the orientation of the further mobile device and to compare the determined difference of orientations with an orientation threshold,
so that the orientation criterion is met when the determined difference of orientations is equal or lower than the orientation threshold.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the multi-user module can be further configured to send acknowledgment notifications to the first and further mobile devices once the multi-user mode is activated between said mobile devices.
Moreover, the acknowledgment notifications can comprise an identifier of each mobile device for which the multi-user mode is activated.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the processing equipment according may correspond to one of the mobile devices.
The present disclosure further concerns a processing equipment for activating a multi-user mode between mobile devices arranged within at least one network, said processing equipment comprising one or several processors configured to:
The present disclosure also concerns a computer program product downloadable from a communication network and/or recorded on a medium readable by computer and/or executable by a processor, comprising program code instructions for implementing a method for activating a multi-user mode, at a processing equipment located in at least one network, between mobile devices arranged within said network, said method comprising:
Besides, the present disclosure further concerns a non-transitory program storage terminal, readable by a computer, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the computer to perform a method for activating a multi-user mode, at a processing equipment located in at least one network, between devices arranged within said network, said method comprising:
Certain aspects commensurate in scope with the disclosed embodiments are set forth below. It should be understood that these aspects are presented merely to provide the reader with a brief summary of certain forms the disclosure might take and that these aspects are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. Indeed, the disclosure may encompass a variety of aspects that may not be set forth below.
The disclosure will be better understood and illustrated by means of the following embodiment and execution examples, in no way limitative, with reference to the appended figures on which:
In
Wherever possible, the same reference numerals will be used throughout the figures to refer to the same or like parts.
It is to be understood that the figures and descriptions of the present disclosure have been simplified to illustrate elements that are relevant for a clear understanding of the present disclosure, while eliminating, for purposes of clarity, many other elements found in typical digital terminals.
As described above, the present disclosure provides a method for activating a multi-user mode (also called N-user mode), at a processing equipment, between two or more devices connected to said processing equipment through a network architecture.
As depicted in
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in
In addition, according to said embodiment, each mobile device D1, D2, D3 further comprises:
In addition, according to the embodiment, as shown in
The processing equipment E may be a standalone equipment arranged within the network, or may be integrated, at least partially, within a further network equipment such as a gateway, a cache, a server, a proxy, etc.
In addition, in a variant, the whole processing equipment E, or a part of if, may be integrated within one of the mobile devices D1, D2, D3.
In order to operate the method for activating a multi-user mode illustrated in
It is assumed that a network connection is already established between a mobile device D1, D2, D3 and the network equipment E operating the method M. In a variant, the connection might be established either upon the launch of a N-user mode application or when the N-user mode service is activated.
Thus, as shown in
In a step S1, the processing equipment E receives, from a first mobile device (e.g. the mobile device D1 in
In a step S2, the processing equipment E triggers a timer 15A upon receipt of the first N-user mode notification from the first mobile device D1.
When a second N-user mode notification is received (step S3), by the processing equipment E, from a second mobile device (e.g. the mobile device D2 in
It should be understood that step S4 is repeated each time a further N-user mode notification from a further mobile device (e.g. the mobile device D3) is received by the processing equipment E before the end of the time period of the timer 15A.
It has also to be noted that the position and orientation comparisons are performed with respect to the position and orientation of the mobile device sending the first N-user mode notification. Naturally, the comparisons may also be performed, in a variant, with respect to a further mobile device, distinct from the first mobile device, sending a N-user mode notification.
In a further step S5, the N-user module 15 of the processing equipment E activates a N-user mode between the mobile devices for which the orientation and position criteria are both met.
An N-user mode acknowledgment notification is further sent (step S6) to the mobile devices set in the N-user mode. Said notification may comprise an identifier of each mobile device for which the N-user mode is activated. Such an identifier (e.g. an IP address) may be provided by each mobile device to the processing equipment.
Once the N-user mode activated, a mobile device D1, D2, D3 may send a request to the processing equipment E for data or services. Such a request may comprise the identifiers of the other mobile devices sharing the N-user mode with the requesting mobile device.
When at least one criterion (the position criterion, the orientation criterion) is not met, the N-user mode is not activated between the corresponding mobile devices.
When the processing equipment E receives (step S7), from a mobile device set in the N-user mode, a stop notification indicating that said mobile device does want the activation of the N-user mode anymore, the corresponding mobile device is removed (step S8) from the N-user mode. Nevertheless, the N-user mode may be maintained between the other mobile devices, from which no stop notification has been received.
A notification may be sent by the processing equipment to inform the requesting mobile device that the mode N-user has been stopped.
It has to be noted that, in case a N-user mode notification is received, from a further mobile device, by the processing equipment after the end of the time period of the timer, the method M may be operating by considering said further mobile device as the first device and a new timer is triggered.
According to the embodiment, to be set in the N-user mode, no session code, password or the like is required, mobile devices are automatically associated with the N-user mode when the above mentioned conditions are fulfilled.
In an illustrating, but non limitative example, once the N-user mode is activated, the processing equipment E behaves as a broker. The N-user mode can be used:
to obtain an extended display interface from the display interfaces of the mobile devices set in the N-user mode. In other words, the display interfaces of the mobile devices form one extended display interface, on which data—sent by the processing equipment—might be displayed. This is particularly advantageous when users of the mobile devices set in the N-user mode are located in the same place, such as in the same room, the mobile devices being arranged near to each other in the same table;
Besides, the flowchart and/or block diagrams in the Figures illustrate the configuration, operation and functionality of possible implementations of systems, methods and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, or blocks may be executed in an alternative order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of the blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions. While not explicitly described, the present embodiments may be employed in any combination or sub-combination.
As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of the present principles can be embodied as a system, method or computer readable medium. Accordingly, aspects of the present principles can take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, and so forth), or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that can all generally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module”, or “system.” Furthermore, aspects of the present principles can take the form of a computer readable storage medium. Any combination of one or more computer readable storage medium(s) may be utilized.
A computer readable storage medium can take the form of a computer readable program product embodied in one or more computer readable medium(s) and having computer readable program code embodied thereon that is executable by a computer. A computer readable storage medium as used herein is considered a non-transitory storage medium given the inherent capability to store the information therein as well as the inherent capability to provide retrieval of the information therefrom. A computer readable storage medium can be, for example, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. It is to be appreciated that the following, while providing more specific examples of computer readable storage mediums to which the present principles can be applied, is merely an illustrative and not exhaustive listing as is readily appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art: a portable computer diskette; a hard disk; a random access memory (RAM); a read-only memory (ROM); an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory); a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM); an optical storage device; a magnetic storage device; or any suitable combination of the foregoing.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14307039.9 | Dec 2014 | EP | regional |