Location-dependent user interface

• US 20020054150A1
• Filed: 03/22/2001
• Published: 05/09/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Wilcock, Lawrence, Hawkes, Rycharde Jeffery, Waters, John Deryk, Edward McDonnell, James Thomas, Iʼ Anson, Colin
• Granted Patent: US 6,760,046 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/810
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/75 Indicating network or usage conditions on the user display
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

A method is provided of adapting a user interface to the user'"'"'s current situation. The method involves a user specifying a home-area interface (83), for example, a web browser home page, and an “away” interface (84). When the user connects to a network (10) using a device (20) and calls up his/her browser home page, a determination is made of the location of the device in order to decide which version of the home page is to be served back to the user device by the home-page server of the user. In a preferred embodiment, the “away” home page (84) includes specific types of local data of interest to the user (such as best local restaurants). When asked to provide the “away” home page, the homepage server uses this information to find the URLs of local special interest web sites (122) carrying the relevant type of data, the server inserting these URLs in the “away” home page (84) before providing it to the user device (20) concerned.

Claims

1. A method of adapting a user interface to the user'"'"'s current situation, comprising the steps of:

storing interface specification data for defining at least first and second user interface data sets intended for use in implementing device user interfaces in respective different geographic areas, the interface specification data defining for each data set a respective set of subjects about which information is to be presented, and

determining which interface data set is appropriate for the current location of a user device, transferring the appropriate data set to the user device, and using that data set to implement a device user interface.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the interface specification data defines each subject in the set of subjects associated with each data set, by one of:

a specific data item;

a specific data-item reference;

a generic topic upon which a search can be conducted for items to be included in the user interface implemented using the data set concerned.

3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the user interface specification data is specified at least in part by a particular user for use in implementing device user interfaces for that user.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the first data set is intended for use in implementing a device user interface in a home area of a user and the second data set is intended for use in implementing a device user interface in other areas, the step of determining which interface data set is appropriate for the current location of a user device involving determining the current location of the user device and comparing it with the home area of the user.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein the determination of which data set to use involves, in addition to making a location-dependent determination, a determination based on the type of the device concerned.

6. A method according to claim 1, wherein the location-dependent determination of which data set to use is made in one of the following:

the device concerned;

the entity storing the interface specification data;

an intermediate entity between the device and the storing entity.

7. A method according to claim 1, wherein the user interface specification data takes the form of a respective web page file for each said data set.

8. A method according to claim 1, wherein the user interface specification data comprises data held in a user profile and identifying, for each data set, said set of subjects.

9. A method according to claim 1, wherein at least one data set specifies the inclusion of one or more elements relevant to the locale of the user device, the method including the further sub-step, where said at least one data set is determined to be the appropriate data set, of fetching said one or more elements in dependence on the current location of the device.

10. A method according to claim 9, wherein the task of fetching said one or more elements for the data set determined as appropriate for the current device location is effected by an intermediate entity associated with the locale where the device is situated, the relevant interface specification data being passed to this entity from where it is stored.

11. A method according to claim 9, wherein a said element comprises one of the following:

a specific data item of local information;

a hyperlink to a resource containing local information.

12. A method according to claim 11, wherein the task of fetching said one or more elements for the data set determined as appropriate for the current device location is effected by an intermediate entity associated with the locale where the device is situated, the relevant interface specification data being passed to this entity from where it is stored.

13. A method according to claim 1, wherein the interface specification data is held in a store directly accessible to at least one network, and wherein when the user device is connected to a network that is not a said at least one network, the interface specification data is passed from where it is stored to an entity of the network to which the device is connected, this entity effecting at least the sub-step of transferring the appropriate data set to the device.

14. A method according to claim 1, wherein each data set, taken individually, relates to a user interface of one of the following types:

a graphical user interface for a web browser;

an audio interface for a web browser.

16. A method according to claim 15, wherein the user device is a cell phone effecting access via a mobile radio infrastructure and the internet.

15. A method according to claim l, wherein the interface specification data is stored in an Internet-accessible data store to which a user has dial-up access for the purposes of specifying and/or modifying the interface specification data, the interface specification data being accessed over the internet by a user device either via a dial up connection or over the internet to provide the data set appropriate for the current location of the user device effecting access.