MULTI-PLATFORM APPLICATION PLAYER

• US 20120066675A1
• Filed: 04/27/2011
• Published: 03/15/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/13/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: GAVA, Fabio, GICKLHORN, Daniel P., SHELANSKY, Andrew R., LEE, Shiang-Feng
• Granted Patent: US 9,069,584 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/178
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/60 Software deployment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/44521 Dynamic linking or loading; Link editing at or after load time, e.g. Java class loading
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/44526 Plug-ins; Add-ons

Abstract

In a first embodiment of the present invention, a method for operating a multi-platform application player on a device is provided, comprising: receiving an indication of a first application to run on the device; determining a platform required for the first application to run; identifying a first application player suitable for running an environment compatible with the determined platform, wherein the first application player is capable of running the first application as well as one or more other applications created for the determined platform; loading the first application player in the multi-platform application player; and running the first application in the first application player in the multi-platform application player on the device.

Claims

1. A method for operating a multi-platform application player on a device, comprising:

receiving an indication of a first application to run on the device;

determining a platform required for the first application to run;

identifying a first application player suitable for running an environment compatible with the determined platform, wherein the first application player is capable of running the first application as well as one or more other applications created for the determined platform;

loading the first application player in the multi-platform application player; and

running the first application in the first application player in the multi-platform application player on the device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an indication of a second application to run on the device, wherein the second application requires a platform other than the platform required for the first application to run;

identifying a second application player suitable for running an environment compatible with a platform required for the second application to run;

loading the second application player in the multi-platform application player; and

running the second application in the second application player in the multi-platform application player on the device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining, identifying, loading, and running are performed transparently to the user.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the determining and identifying includes sending metadata related to the first application to a player source and receiving an identification of the first application player from the player source.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the player source is located on the device.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the player source is located on a device accessible over a network.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the loading the first application player in the multi-platform player includes downloading the first application player through a network connection and installing the first application player on the device;

the identifying a first application player includes identifying a source for the first application player and downloading the first application player, independently of a user of the device.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the device is not aware of an exact source for the first application player when the device receives the indication to run the first application.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the device is not aware of an identity of the first application player when the device receives the indication to run the first application

10. An apparatus comprising:

a display;

an interface;

memory; and

a multi-platform application player comprising;

a player host having a plurality of installed application players, each of the application players executable to operate a platform from which applications can be executed; and

a processor adapted to;

operate the multi-platform application so that, when an application is run, a player source is queried to determine an application player needed to run the application and, if the determined application player is not already installed in the multi-platform application player, download and install the determined application player from an application source.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the application source is located on a server.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the player source is located on an external device.

13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the apparatus is a mobile device and the external device is a television.

15. The multi-platform application player of claim 13, wherein the means for receiving an indication includes a graphical user interface designed to receive a user selection of an application to install.

16. The multi-platform application player of claim 13, wherein the means for determining includes means for accessing a table having a list of various pieces of metadata of applications and corresponding application players required to play the applications.

17. The multi-platform application player of claim 16, wherein the means for determining includes means for communicating with a server over the Internet.

14. A multi-platform application player comprising:

means for receiving an indication of a first application to install in the multi-platform application platform player;

means for determining an application player required to run the first application;

means for automatically downloading and installing the application player required to run the first application if it is not already installed in the multi-platform application player; and

means for installing the first application so that it runs using a virtual platform produced by running the application player required to run the first application.

18. A non-transitory program storage device readable by a machine tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform a method for operating a multi-platform application player on a device, the method comprising:

receiving an indication of a first application to run on the device;

determining a platform required for the first application to run;

identifying a first application player suitable for running an environment compatible with the determined platform, wherein the first application player is capable of running the first application as well as one or more other applications created for the determined platform, wherein the first application player contains an application interpreter capable of running independently of any other program; and

running the first application in the first application player in the multi-platform application player on the device.

19. The non-transitory program storage device of claim 18, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving an indication of a second application to run on the device, wherein the second application requires a platform other than the platform required for the first application to run;

identifying a second application player suitable for running an environment compatible with a platform required for the second application to run, wherein the second application player contains an application interpreter capable of running independently of any other program; and

running the second application in the second application player in the multi-platform application player on the device.

20. The non-transitory program storage device of claim 18, wherein the method further comprises:

automatically retrieving hardware-specific information regarding a physical device on which the multi-platform application player is operating; and

wherein the identifying is based at least partially on the retrieved hardware-specific information.

21. The non-transitory program storage device of claim 18, wherein the method further comprises:

automatically retrieving information regarding an operating system running on a physical device on which the multi-platform application player is operating; and

wherein the identifying is based at least partially on the retrieved operating system information.

22. The non-transitory program storage device of claim 18, wherein the multi-platform application player operates on a mobile phone.

23. The non-transitory program storage device of claim 18, wherein the multi-platform application player operates on a television.