System for presenting applications on instant messaging clients

• US 20050273496A1
• Filed: 06/07/2004
• Published: 12/08/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/07/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Arlington Technologies, LLC (Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Avaya Incorporated
• Inventors: Seligmann, Doree Duncan, Jean, Yves D.
• Granted Patent: US 8,869,043 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/046 Interoperability with other network applications or services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services

Abstract

The present invention is a system for accessing applications from even the most basic Instant Message (IM) enabled mobile device. The system utilizes the IM infrastructure of a mobile device to deliver application interfaces and manage the user experience. The invention is particularly applicable to applications with graphical user interfaces (GUI), even typical desktop or web applications. The system performs a direct transformation of application user interfaces into an IM messaging model with minimal functional distortions. The users own application knowledge and experience is leveraged, reducing application customization in the system architecture. The system also incorporates presence-driven mechanisms in the architecture.

Claims

1. A method for enabling a user logged in to an Instant Message (IM) network to utilize the IM infrastructure to access network resources, said IM infrastructure comprising a buddy list displayed to the user;

said method comprising the steps of;

mapping at least one of the network resources to an IM identity;

displaying at least one of said IM identities as an entry on the buddy list; and

,

permitting the user access to said at least one network resource by IM communication with the displayed IM identity.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said displaying step comprises providing the user with availability information relating to the at least one network resource.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said displaying step comprises providing the user with state information relating to the at least one network resource.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said network resources are selected from the group consisting of applications, objects, hardware devices, and data files.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of managing which of said at least one IM identities are to be displayed on the buddy list.

6. The method of claim 3 in which said managing step comprises the step of determining the availability of the network resource.

7. The method of claim 3 in which said managing step comprises the step of ascertaining the state of the network resource.

8. The method of claim 3 in which said managing step comprises the step of responding to one or more IM communications by the user.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising the step of pairing two or more resources together by mapping them to a single IM entity.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

controlling a pool of synthetic IM users (SIMU), each of said SIMUs comprising an IM handle, an association list, and a nickname; and

,

determining the entry to be displayed based upon said IM handle or said nickname.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising the step of representing specific functionality of a network device as a SIMU.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising representing said entry on the buddy list as an application GUI element.

13. A system for enabling a user logged in to an Instant Message (IM) network to utilize the IM infrastructure to access network resources, said IM infrastructure comprising a buddy list displayed to the user;

said system comprising;

means for mapping at least one of the network resources to an IM identity;

means for displaying at least one of said IM identities as an entry on the buddy list; and

,

means for permitting the user access to said at least one network resource by IM communication with the displayed IM identity.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein said means for displaying comprises a means for providing the user with availability information relating to the at least one network resource.

15. The system of claim 13 wherein said means for displaying comprises a means for providing the user with state information relating to the at least one network resource.

16. The system of claim 13 wherein said network resources are selected from the group consisting of applications, objects, hardware devices, and data files.

17. The system of claim 13 further comprising a means for managing which of said at least one IM identities are to be displayed on the buddy list.

18. The system of claim 17 in which said means for managing comprises a means for determining the availability of the network resource.

19. The system of claim 17 in which said means for managing comprises a means for ascertaining the state of the network resource.

20. The system of claim 17 in which said means for managing comprises a means for responding to one or more IM communications by the user.

21. The system of claim 20 further comprising a means for pairing two or more resources together by mapping them to a single IM entity.

22. The system of claim 17 further comprising:

means for controlling a pool of synthetic IM users (SIMU), each of said SIMUs comprising an IM handle, an association list, and a nickname; and

,

means for determining the entry to be displayed based upon said IM handle or said nickname.

23. The system of claim 22 further comprising a means for representing specific functionality of a network device as a SIMU.

24. The system of claim 13 further comprising a means for representing said entry on the buddy list as an application GUI element.