Multi-screen session mobility between terminal groups

• US 6,710,753 B2
• Filed: 12/22/2000
• Issued: 03/23/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sun Microsystems Incorporated (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sun Microsystems Incorporated (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Gillespie, Brian J., Mitra, Aniruddha, Doolittle, Robert A., Hanko, James G., Wall, Gerard A.
• Primary Examiner(s): AWAD, AMR A
• Application Number:
  US09/747,427
• Publication Number:
  US 20020196196A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,187 Days
• Field of Search: 345/1--, 345/736, 345/744, 345/903, 709/200, 709/203, 709/204, 709/205, 709/217, 709/218, 709/219
• US Class Current: 345/2.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1423 controlling a plurality of local displays, e.g. CRT and flat panel display
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 345/903 Modular display

Abstract

The present invention is for multi-screen session mobility between terminal groups. The invention uses a set of screen groups and a set of terminal groups to perform a mapping of the screen groups onto the terminal groups. Both the screen groups and the terminal groups have a geometry, which in one embodiment is defined by columns and rows. In cases where the number of columns in the screen group is less then or equal to the number of columns in the terminal group and where the number of rows in the screen group is also less then or equal to the number of rows in the terminal group, a first mapping scheme is employed. In cases where the number of columns in the screen group exceeds the number of columns in the terminal group or the number of rows in the screen group exceeds the number of rows in the terminal group, a second mapping scheme is employed. In one embodiment, the first mapping scheme maps the screen group directly onto the terminal group. In one embodiment, where the second mapping scheme is employed, screen flipping is used to allow a user to navigate within the terminal group where there are more screens than can be viewed at one time using the terminal group.

Claims

1. A mobile multi-screen network system comprising:

a grouped server environment comprising a plurality of servers for providing a single computer session;

a plurality of screen members of a screen group;

a primary Human Interface Device of a terminal group;

a plurality of secondary Human Interface Devices of said terminal group;

a list generated by said grouped server environment, said list comprising the location of said primary Human Interface Device, the geometry of said terminal group and the address of each of said primary and said secondary Human Interface Devices within said terminal group;

a network;

wherein said plurality of servers are connected with said primary Human Interface Device and said secondary Human Interface Devices via said network;

wherein said list is used by said server environment to map said members of said screen group across said network onto said primary Human Interface Device and said plurality of secondary Human Interface Devices of said terminal group; and

wherein said members of said screen group are associated with a single display for said single computing session that is outputted by said grouped server environment comprising said plurality of servers for providing said single computing session.

2. The mobile multi-screen network system of claim 1, wherein said primary Human Interface Device provides a network interface to a user and wherein said plurality of servers provides a plurality of computational services removed from said primary Human Interface Device to said user.

3. The mobile multi-screen network system of claim 2, wherein said plurality of computational services comprise a computational power for said primary Human Interface Device and a state maintenance for said primary Human Interface Device.

4. The mobile multi-screen network system of claim 1, wherein said primary and secondary Human Interface Devices are stateless devices.

5. The mobile multi-screen network system of claim 1, wherein said mapping of said members onto said primary Human Interface Device and said plurality of secondary Human Interface Devices is transparent to said single computing session.

6. The mobile multi-screen network system of claim 1, wherein said members of said screen group are arranged in a first geometric pattern.

7. The mobile multi-screen network system of claim 6, wherein said primary Human Interface Device and said plurality of secondary Human Interface Devices of said terminal group are arranged in a second geometric pattern.

8. The mobile multi-screen network system of claim 7, wherein said first and second geometric patterns are defined by a plurality of columns and rows.

9. The mobile multi-screen network system of claim 7, wherein columns in said first geometric pattern are not greater than said columns in said second geometric pattern.

10. The mobile multi-screen network system of claim 7, wherein said rows in said first geometric pattern are greater than said rows in said second geometric pattern.

11. The mobile multi-screen network system of claim 7, wherein said rows in said first geometric pattern are not greater than said rows in said second geometric pattern.

12. The mobile multi-screen network system of claim 7, wherein said columns in said first geometric pattern are greater than said columns in said second geometric pattern.

13. The mobile multi-screen network system of claim 7, wherein said list for mapping are generated by said grouped server environment independently from said single computing session and wherein said list comprises a description of said terminal group.

14. The mobile multi-screen network system of claim 1, further comprising groups of Human Interface Devices connected to said server environment via said network and wherein said list for mapping is used to provide for multi-screen session mobility when said single computing session moves between groups of Human Interface Devices.

15. The mobile multi-screen network system of claim 14, wherein said groups of Human Interface Devices comprise said terminal group and another terminal group.

16. The mobile multi-screen network system of claim 1, wherein said primary and secondary Human Interface Devices are associated to simulate a multi-head display unit.

17. The mobile multi-screen network system of claim 1, wherein said plurality of servers provide a computational power for said primary Human Interface Device and a state maintenance for said primary Human Interface Device.

18. The mobile multi-screen network system of claim 1, wherein said primary Human Interface Device is where a user logs into said single computing session.