VLC Docking Station Pairing for Secure Terminal Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing communication systems using Communicating Light devices face challenges in maintaining confidentiality and ergonomic positioning while allowing movement of terminals, particularly when integrated into user interfaces like screens and keyboards.
Innovation Solution
A communication system comprising a home slab with photoreceptors and light sources for free-space optical communication, a central unit to manage pairing, and a method to pair terminals with specific areas of the slab, ensuring secure and ergonomic communication.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the network-side transmission/reception device is made small in size, then it can fit within the terminal size constraints, but it becomes difficult to position precisely opposite the terminal while allowing for small movements
Solution Approach 1:
The home slab is divided into multiple independently controllable zones, each with its own photoreceptors and light sources. This segmentation allows the system to activate only the specific zone where a terminal is detected, enabling precise positioning control without requiring the entire device to be small or rigidly positioned.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically selects and activates specific photoreceptors and light sources based on terminal position detection. This dynamic adaptation allows the network-side device to maintain optimal communication positioning even when terminals move, resolving the contradiction between fixed positioning requirements and movement flexibility.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If Communicating Light devices are placed in an opaque container, then physical-level confidentiality is improved, but accessibility of screens and keyboards is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The home slab implements local optical communication zones where light signals are confined to specific areas. This local quality approach maintains confidentiality within each zone while allowing terminal screens and keyboards to remain accessible to users, as the optical confinement occurs at the communication interface level rather than requiring complete enclosure of the terminal.
3Reliability
If the network-side device is positioned precisely opposite the terminal, then communication reliability is improved, but ergonomic positioning is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
By dividing the home slab into multiple zones with distributed photoreceptors and light sources, the system can maintain reliable optical communication by activating only the zone where the terminal is located. This eliminates the need for precise opposite positioning of the entire device, allowing ergonomic placement while maintaining communication reliability through localized zone activation.
Solution Approach 2:
The central unit acts as an intermediary that detects terminal position and dynamically selects the appropriate photoreceptors and light sources to activate. This intermediary control mechanism maintains communication reliability by ensuring proper alignment between active communication elements and the terminal, while allowing the physical device to be positioned ergonomically without precise opposite placement requirements.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables secure, free-space optical communication channels that maintain confidentiality and allow terminal movement without ergonomic compromise, using separate wavelength bands for pairing and data transfer.
Implementation Method 1
a home slab comprising a plurality of photoreceptors and a plurality of light sources interfacing with the photoreceptors, the plurality of photoreceptors and the plurality of light sources being adapted for free-space optical communication
Implementation Method 2
a home slab comprising a plurality of photoreceptors and a plurality of light sources interfacing with the photoreceptors, the plurality of photoreceptors and the plurality of light sources being adapted for free-space optical communication
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a communicating device comprising a docking station and a central unit. The docking station comprises a plurality of photoreceivers and a plurality of light sources interjacent with the photoreceivers. The plurality of photoreceivers and the plurality of light sources are suitable for visible light communication (VLC). The central unit is configured to obtain an initialisation signal, to select some of the plurality of light sources of the docking station, to command emission of a pairing signal, to obtain a response signal and to command pairing of the terminal with some of the plurality of photoreceivers of the docking station and some of the plurality of light sources of the docking station.