This invention generally relates to control systems, and more particularly relates to an aggregated control system for controlling video displays, and preferably for controlling audio output and environmental systems as well.
The way to conduct meetings in the workplace is changing. There no longer exists merely one or two ways to make a presentation. Meetings, presentations and collaboration such as video conferencing, are becoming more elaborate. At the meetings, typically large amounts of information are presented in a variety of ways and the information may be presented by multiple presenters. There is a need for a meeting environment that is more dynamic and flexible.
While technology provides a variety of useful tools such as laptops and audio and visual equipment, the technology can often become a barrier to conducting a successful meeting. Power, data, video and other connections are not always easily accessible. The presenters often want to use the variety of tools together, yet the tools are often designed to be used separately. Control devices such as universal remote controls only send control commands directly to individual devices. The remote controls are not capable of ascertaining the state of a device, but rather can only repeatedly send commands to a single component. This leaves the control of individual components to the user creating a great deal of complexity and potential problems to deal with.
Complex multi-step procedures for controlling several different components are needed to accomplish basic functions. This creates many possible points of failure in the system functionality and requires the user to have a great deal of detailed knowledge about the interconnectivity of the system components. A large amount of time and money is spent designing, specifying, maintaining and using the variety of devices. Those that invest much of the time and money include architects and interior designers, facility managers, information technology managers, and end users such as the presenters.
Typically meetings take place in a shared space, such as a conference room. There is not usually a person assigned to managing and maintaining equipment in the meeting place. Information technology managers have other priorities. Facility managers view video conferencing as someone else's problem. A lot of time and effort is used to set up and reconfigure the system. Managing and rewiring the cables can be cumbersome. Necessary maintenance and upgrades to the equipment are neglected.
There is a need for an audio and video presentation environment that can be easy to maintain and easy to use.
A system is disclosed for controlling multiple input devices and at least one output device in a video presentation system. The system includes a user control interface, a processor connected to the user control interface, multiple input devices and at least one output device. The processor is operable through the user control interface to select one of the input devices, determine the operating state of the selected input device, control an operating state of the selected input device, and determine and control the operating state of the at least one output device in accordance with the determined operating state of the input devices and the at least one output device.
Other systems, methods, features and advantages of the invention will be, or will become, apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the invention, and be protected by the following claims.
The invention can be better understood with reference to the following drawings and description. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention.
Table of Acronyms
The following table can aid the reader in determining the meaning of the several acronyms used herein:
Components within the control system 100 can vary. Environmental devices 112 include lights 114, window shades 116, movable screening 117 and other devices including sensors 118, such as motion sensors, heat sensors and door sensors, which can be used to sense and/or control the environment. Output devices 110 include projectors 120, monitors 122, including cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors, plasma screens 124, printers 125 and speakers 126. The projector can project images onto a screen 128. Input devices 108 include playback devices including video cassette recorders (VCR) 130 and digital video disk (DVD) players 132. Input devices 108 also include processors such as personal computers (PC), portable computers 134 and tablet PCs. Input devices also include other devices such as a camera 134 used in teleconferencing. The camera 134 can be directed at devices within the environment such as whiteboard 138. User control devices 102 include hardware devices and software devices, including tabletop devices, handheld devices and computing devices.
Input from other components 226, such as sensors, within the environment or any other data sources can be used in the control logic of the control system 100. Actuators and other devices can also be controlled based on any desired behavior or user input configured into the control software. For example, when a user enters a room controlled by the control system 100, the control system 100 can be programmed to automatically turn on the lights 114. If the user powers the VCR 130, the control system 100 can be programmed to determine the state of the lights 114 and shades 116, and automatically dim the lights 114, if on, and close the shades 116, if open. Moreover, if the control system 100 determines that the DVD player 132 is already playing, the control system 100 can automatically turn off the DVD player 132 when turning on the VCR player 130. Further, if a person starts writing on the whiteboard 138, a motion sensor in the vicinity can detect this and swivel a video camera, such as camera 134, to capture the image. Moreover, if a speaker phone 214 is being used while a video is being displayed, the audio from the tape or DVD can be routed to both the speakers in the room and an audio input of the speaker phone 214.
The control system 100 facilitates the use of disparate equipment, such as devices and components, connected with the control system 100. The user controls equipment via the interface 102 such as the portable PC 134, including a laptop, a tablet PC and a graphical user interface (GUI), and/or a stationary PC, including a desktop PC 206. Other possible user control interfaces can include personal digital assistants (PDA's), infrared remote control, a PC keyboard, a mouse and a video panel 140. The video panel 140 can be portable such that it is battery powered and can connect to the control system 100 via wireless communication. The video panel 140 can include a touch screen display 142 which allows the user to touch the screen to determine inputs. Upon a command by a user, or automatically, such as at a specified time, the processor 104 controls equipment including the web camera 134, a video camera 208, a VCR 130 and/or a DVD player 132. The control system 100 can also include communication equipment such as a telephone, including a speaker phone 214 and a video conferencing unit 216, which can be controlled by the processor 104. When needed, audio equipment such as and audio amplifier 218 and speakers 126 can be connected with input devices 108 to display audio output from the personal computer, the VCR 130, the DVD player 132, and other system such as the videoconferencing system. Video signal from the input devices 108 can be automatically connected with and displayed by one or more projectors 120 and/or video displays 224, or on projector screens 128, monitors 122, and televisions. Other components 226 can also be controlled or monitored, such as lighting, heating, cooling equipment and sensors. The sensors can include occupancy sensors to determine whether a user is present in a room. The processor 104 can be programmed to automatically control the state of equipment within the room when a user enters or leaves the room, for example by considering output signals from motion sensors or other sensory methods.
The control system 100 can include a video scaler and an audio or video switch or an audio and video switching device 230. An exemplary switching device is an input/output (I/O) switch manufactured by Extron Electronics, located in Anaheim, Calif. In addition, a series of I/O or other switches could be used. The switch 230 can be integrated in the processor 104 and/or a separate device. The switch 230 accommodates making connections between the input devices 108 and any number of the output devices 110 at the direction of the processor 104. An exemplary switch 230 can route both analog video signals, e.g., originating from a VCR and television receiver, and red-green-blue (RGB) video signals, e.g., originating from a computer monitor, high definition television (HDTV) and other RGB source. To conform the input device 108 and output device 110, a video scaler processes the video output from an analog video source to be displayed on an RGB monitor 122 or projector 120. The video scaler allows resealing video for output devices 110 that are not capable of displaying the video format from the input source 108.
For ease of operation, the user control unit 400 can also include other user interfaces such as input device buttons 406 that correspond to inputs 108 such as equipment controlled with the user control unit 400. Such equipment includes one or more computers such as a laptop or tablet PC, video cameras, VCRs DVD players and control interfaces. When the user presses one of the input device buttons 406, the video signal from the equipment corresponding to that button is automatically routed to a designated output device 110. The output device 110 can be designated by the user, a manufacturer, a distributor or others with hardware, software and/or firmware, discussed more below.
The user control unit 400 can also include an identification tag reader 412, such as a radio frequency (RF), infrared (IR) and/or bar code reader or other identification technology such as thumb print reader. The reader allows the user to activate a feature of the control system 100, such as to control equipment with the control system 100. To activate a feature of the control system 100, the user positions a device by the reader, such as an identification (ID) card. The ID card can include conventional card shapes and other shapes such as a wand shape. The ID card can be labeled with indicia, such as “PLAY DVD,” so that the user can easily determine which functions the ID card controls.
The specific functions to perform or a unique identifier representing the functions can be stored on the ID card and/or printed on the ID card such as in the form of a bar code. If an identifier is used, the processor 104 can access a database, such as a lookup table, to determine the function that corresponds to the identifier stored on the ID card. The ID cards can be programmed to include user preferences, such as opening a web browser on a PC of the user to connect with the Internet. User preferences can be stored and changed on a memory of the ID card such as with an electronically erasable programmable read only device (EEPROM). The ID card can be incorporated into a building ID card of the user.
The user control unit 400 can accommodate various connectors. The equipment can connect with wires, such as via wiring harness 408 and/or via a wireless connection, such as Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) or a wireless local area network (WLAN). The wiring harness 408, or a cable that can accommodate multiple signals, allows for a single cable connection point 409 to the user control unit 400. The user control unit 400 can also include input ports 410, such as universal serial bus (USB) ports or IEEE-1394 ports which allow the user to connect to the user control unit with a computer. Other input ports 410 can also be used, such as those that accommodate a fifteen pin RGB Video HD15 plug, a nine pin serial DB9 plug, a twenty nine pin DVI plug, RCA audio inputs, an eight to ten pin RJ45 plug for (Ethernet network connection) and a four pin RJ11 plug for phone connection. In addition the user control unit 400 can include A/C power outlets to power laptop computers or other devices requiring power, and can be setup to accommodate custom cables.
The user control unit 400 provides the user with controls to operate certain functions of the equipment, such as controlling an audio level output by speakers 220 and the brightness and contrast of a video display. The user control unit 400 can include other buttons and controls, such as an up volume button 414, a down volume button 416 and a mute button 418. The number keys can be set to preset functions, such as up to nine preset camera positions. The camera positions can be set engaging a set memory button 420 and then pressing a key located on a number pad, such as keys 1-9. The user can then recall the camera position by pressing the number. To share information with other users, the video camera can be positioned at different positions within a workspace such as at a white board, a blackboard, a projector screen or a participant of a meeting. A photo button 422 can be used to take a photo, such as a digital photo, of a current view of the video camera, or for other functions such as saving a current screen being displayed. The photo can be saved to memory such as a memory of the control system 100 or a PC server on the computer network. The user control unit 400 can also include a mode button 424, such as to change a mode of the keypad 404. In one mode, the numeral two, four, six and eight buttons can be used to move the camera up, left, right and down, respectively.
The keypad 404 can include a light source that blinks to indicate that the keypad is being used in an alternate mode. The user control unit 400 can also include a user interface (UI) button 426 which can display a user interface to a designated output device 110. Pressing the UI button 426 a second time will return the designated output device to display whichever input was shown prior to displaying the user interface screen.
Outputs 110 are represented by output objects 501, such as icons. Inputs 108 are also represented by input objects 502. A system status object 504 can be used to display a status of the control system 100. The objects displayed by the user interface 500 can include pull down menus to present the user with options and/or additional objects such as icons. In addition, the objects 502 representing the inputs 108 can be dragged into and out of a source icon field 506 of the output object 501 of the outputs 110. In this way, a user can alternatively designate which inputs 108 connect with which outputs 110. Users can disconnect an input device 108 from an output device 110 by either dragging the none input object 502 into the output object 501 or dragging the selected input object 506 out of the output object 501.
In addition to the system status object 504, the user interface 500 can include controls, such as volume controls 508, device controls 510 and administration buttons 512. The system status object 504 displays which equipment is connected to the control system 100 and the status of the equipment, such as on, off and hibernation. The volume controls 508 can be used to adjust the volume of the audio level of sound equipment in the control system 100. The device controls 510 can be tailored to the specific equipment being controlled to include more or less buttons than those shown. The DVD controls can include rewind, stop, play, fast forward, pause, next and previous, DVD menu, directional navigation keys and power. VCR controls may include rewind, stop, play, fast forward, pause and power. Video camera control can include buttons to control pan, tilt and zoom. The video camera can be controlled directly and by using preset position settings stored in memory. A take picture button can also be included to obtain a picture of the current position of the video camera. The picture can be saved and/or sent to others, such as by using electronic mail or a storage medium.
The administration buttons 512 can include a system configuration button 514, a reset button 516 and a system off button 518. The system configuration button 514 can display other screens with information about the control system 100 such as user settings and a version of the software. Access to the control settings can be limited such that only administrators can change these settings on the configuration screens. The reset button 516 can reset software of the control system 100 to original startup settings. The system off button 518 can set the control system 100 in an off or hibernation state depending on administration settings. The control system 100 can be reactivated by pushing any other button on the user interface 500 or the user control unit 400.
The active mode can be represented to the user by lighting the device button 406 that corresponds to the input device 108. For example, a red light can indicate that the input device 108 has been activated and a green light can indicate that the input device 108 has been deactivated, or vice versa. At block 650, the user interface 500 can display the icon representing the input device positioned in the output object 501. For example, an icon representing the DVD player can be displayed in the object representing the projector. At block 660, the control system 100 switches an output device 110, such as an audio output device, to connect with the input device 108. At block 670, output coming from the input device 108 is displayed on the selected output device 110, e.g., the projector.
At block 680, if the user drags a “none” input icon to an output object 501 or if the input device is already selected on the user control unit 400, the input device 108 is deactivated. At block 690, the device button 406 can be lit, e.g., to a certain color that indicates the deactivation, or a light can be turned off. At block 692, the source icon field 506 is cleared on the user interface 500. At block 694, a corresponding audio source can be disconnected from the input device 108, for example, with a switch. At block 696, the input device 108 can be disconnected from the projector or other display device.
At block 1190, the control system 100 determines whether the user desires to deactivate a system low power option during non-use. At block 1192, if the user selects to deactivate the low power option, the control system 100 will not hibernate. At block 1194, the control system 100 determines if the user has selected to change the time period until the control system 100 powers down to a low power mode. At block 1196, the user can select the time, such as in minutes, which elapse before the control system 100 powers down to the low power. At block 1198, when the user closes the system administration window the updated settings can be saved.
At block 1314, if the keypad was not operating in the alternate mode before the mode button 424 was engaged, the mode is changed to the alternate mode. At block 1316, to automatically reset the mode to the standard mode, the control system 100 determines if a time period has expired. At block 1312, if the time period has expired, the mode is changed to the standard mode. Alternatively, the mode may remain the same until changed by a user.
The keypad 404 of the user control unit 400 and/or the user interface 500 can be used to control movement of the input device 108 such as a camera. At block 1318, the control system 100 determines if the two key was engaged by the user in the alternate mode. At block 1320, if the two key was engaged the camera moves up. At block 1322, the user can also command the camera to move up by engaging a button on the user interface 500. At block 1324, the control system 100 determines if a three key was engaged by the user in the alternate mode. At block 1326, if a three key was engaged the camera zooms in. At block 1328, the user can also command the camera to zoom in by engaging a button on the user interface 500. At block 1330, the control system 100 determines if a six key was engaged by the user in the alternate mode. At block 1332, if a six key was engaged the camera moves left. At block 1334, the user can also command the camera to move left by engaging a button on the user interface 500. At block 1336, the control system 100 determines if an eight key was engaged by the user in the alternate mode. At block 1338, if an eight key was engaged the camera moves down. At block 1340, the user can also command the camera to move down by engaging a button on the user interface 500. At block 1342, the control system 100 determines if a nine key was engaged by the user in the alternate mode. At block 1344, if a nine key was engaged the camera zooms out. At block 1346, the user can also command the camera to zoom out by engaging a button on the user interface 500.
The protocol also allows the processor 104 to modify the illumination state of buttons 404, 406, such as with light emitting diodes (LED). The protocol can include any number of digital or analog communication protocols. In one instance, the protocol is a two-way RS-232 serial connection using a predefined set of ASCII command and response codes. In accordance with signals from the processor 104, the microcontroller 1610 writes data to a set of shift registers 1630 that hold the state of the LEDs that illuminate the keypad 404 and pushbuttons 406. The shift registers 1630 can also provide the necessary power to drive the LEDs. The microcontroller 1610 monitors the state of the keypad 404 and pushbuttons 406 and responds when a key or button is pressed. The microcontroller 1610 responds by sending an ASCII message indicating the key that has been pressed. The processor 104 can continuously or periodically observe the device's communication port for such messages and reports the messages to the control program to change system state.
At block 1760, a next task determines if one of the pushbuttons 406 is pressed. At block 1770, if one of the pushbuttons 406 is pressed, the microcontroller 1610 sends an event message to the processor 104.
At block 1772, a next task is to determine if one of the keys in the keypad 404 is pressed. At block 1774, if one of the keys in the keypad 404 is pressed, an event message is sent to the processor 104.
At block 1776, a next task is to determine if a command message has been received from the processor 104. If not, execution of the firmware branches to the start of the main service loop at block 1700 and the set is repeated of the tasks. Otherwise the command message is interpreted.
At block 1778, a determination is made whether a command was received from the processor 104 to set the pushbutton LED state. At block 1779, if so, the LED state is set and a result message is sent to the processor 104. At block 1780, a determination is made whether a command was received to set the keypad backlight state. At block 1781, if so, the keypad backlight state is set and a result message is sent to the processor 104. At block 1782, a determination is made whether a command was received to retrieve the overall state of the LED's, e.g., both the pushbuttons 406 and the backlights of the keypad 404. At block 1783, if so, a state message is sent to the processor 104. At block 1784, a determination is made whether a command was received to retrieve the last key pressed. At block 1785, if so, a key message is sent to the processor 104. At block 1786, a determination is made whether a command was received to retrieve the last button pressed. At block 1787, if so, a button message is sent to the processor 104. At block 1788, a determination is made whether a command was received to set the repeat delay between event messages when a button or key is pressed and held down. At block 1789, if so, a repeat delay is set and a result message sent to the processor 104. At block 1790, a determination is made whether a command was received to set the flashing frequency of the keypad backlight blinking. At block 1791, if so, a blink delay is set and a result message sent to the processor 104. At block 1792, a determination is made whether a command was received to reset the user control unit 400 which causes the initialization procedure to be executed. At block 1793, if so, a result message sent to the processor 104. At block 1794, if the command is not recognized or if the command message contains an error, the user control unit 400 responds with an error message.
The architecture includes a multi-threaded, object-oriented system of intercommunicating components. The user interface 500 drives the behavior of the program. When user interface actions are invoked, the actions invoke a callback function in an interface module 1800, which invokes a set command in a control module 1810. The user interface 500 is the graphical representation of the interface module 1800. The interface module 1800 is the software module that implements the user interface 500. Part of the software creates the graphical interface 500, and other parts of the software produce the behavior of the user interface 500. Communication to the control 1810 is generalized and simplified, by allowing the invocation of a set command and then two optional arguments, e.g., one textual and the other numeric.
The control module 1810 communicates with devices, such as user equipment 1820, connected through multiple ports, such as serial ports 1830. The equipment 1820 is represented as a software class which inherits from a generic serial device object. The serial device 1890 uses a variety of functions from a lower-level communication library 1840, such as RS-232. The serial device 1890 initializes serial ports and automatically detects the port that the equipment 1820 is attached to. Some of the equipment only utilizes one-way, synchronous communication from the processor 104 to the device, invoked such as switch 1850, IR 1852, projector 1854, camera 1856 and light 1858. Other devices include both synchronous and asynchronous invocation such as access port 1860 and tag reader 1862. Asynchronous invocations include the notification of the control module 1810 of an access port 1860 keypress.
The access port 1860 is the software module that allows communication with a hardware device such as the user control unit 400 that allows control of most equipment in the control system 100. Actions such as lighting up buttons are synchronously invoked, while actions such as key presses are asynchronously invoked. For example, the pressing of a button of the keypad 404 can first be read through an asynchronous thread in the RS-232 package and then communicated to the serial device class through a callback. Thereafter, the button press is brought up to the specific device class, which in turn produces an event that the control system 100 responds to and queues to be handled on the next timer tick. The capture class is invoked when the capture command is initiated through the control unit 400, or user interface 500. The class reads the analog video attached to a video capture device on the processor 104 and uses lower level software libraries to convert this image from analog to digital and store it in memory or on a file on the processor 104.
The control system 100 can be fault-tolerant with regard to networking, protocol and hardware failures. The software architecture can repeatedly verify which input devices 108 and output devices 110 are connected with the processor 104. The software architecture can also initialize any un-initialized input devices 108 and output devices 110, such as devices newly added to the control system 100. As input devices 108 and output devices 110 become available or become disabled, e.g., due to device, connector or protocol problems, the individual user interface component, e.g. a projector represented by and object 501, is enabled or disabled. Also, underlying device software components, e.g. projector 1854, are enabled or disabled. The remainder of the control system 100 can continue to function without interruption.
The automatic periodic or continuous initialization and monitoring of input devices 108 and output devices 110 allows for the recognition of components switched into and out of the control system 100 without having to reset the control system 100. Individual devices such as the projector, the video camera, and the tag reader, can be added and removed from the system while the system is running. When a component is removed, the control module recognizes the removal and disables that component. When a component is added, the control module recognizes the component and re-enables the added component. The port or protocol can also be switched that the device or component is connected through. For example, the projector could be disconnected from serial port 1 and re-connected through serial port 12. This might be necessary if ports are located in physically disparate places, such as placing connectors over various parts of a conference room and/or in remote locations. Additionally, if a device supports multiple protocols, the device can be disconnected from one protocol, e.g. disconnect the projector from serial port 1, and then re-connect the device through another protocol, e.g. connect the projector to USB port 2. This assumes that the individual device supports communication through multiple protocols.
When a user chooses to route a signal from a video device to an RGB output, the video signal input is routed to the video scaler input in the switch. An output of the switch is connected with a determined switch input. That switch input is then routed to the desired RGB output. For example, A is video input 2415, B is chosen RGB output 2417, C is video scaler input (video->RGB converter, video in), D is the video scaler output (RGB out), and D is the switch input into which the output of the video scaler loops back. To route the video signal A to the RGB output B, A is routed to C and D is routed to B. Thereafter the user can view video output from the video device on the output.
It is to be understood that changes and modifications to the embodiments described above will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and are contemplated. It is therefore intended that the foregoing detailed description be regarded as illustrative rather than limiting, and that it be understood that it is the following claims, including all equivalents, that are intended to define the spirit and scope of this invention.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 60/474,789, filed May 30, 2003, which is incorporated by reference herein.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60474789 | May 2003 | US |