Customizing the display of a mobile computing device

• US 7,190,976 B2
• Filed: 09/13/2001
• Issued: 03/13/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Kennedy, Kevin A., Enns, Neil Robin Newman
• Primary Examiner(s): Escalante; Ovidio
• Application Number:
  US09/951,308
• Publication Number:
  US 20020065110A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,007 Days
• Field of Search: 715/517, 715/700, 715745-747, 715/760, 715/762, 455/414.1, 455/566
• US Class Current: 455/566
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9577 Optimising the visualization of content, e.g. distillation of HTML documents
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72406 by software upgrading or downloading
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72427 for supporting games or graphical animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72448 with means for adapting the functionality of the device according to specific conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/027 by controlling a display operation or backlight unit
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Efficiently displaying customized data on the display of a mobile computing device. Layout files, which are created, using an XML based language, receive data from data generating applications and format the received data to a user'"'"'s specification. Multiple layout files may be included in a mobile computing device, allowing a user to select from a variety of display formats. Data generated by data generating applications is received and stored in an intermediate status store. Data consuming applications register with the status store indicating which portions of content they consume. When data changes and one or more data consuming applications have registered for the data, the status store notifies the registered data consuming applications so they may receive the data. Specialized data consuming applications called “plug-ins” may be include in layout files. A “plug-in manager” may control when plug-ins update a display device.

Claims

1. In a mobile handheld computing device that includes a display device, wherein the mobile handheld computing device is associated with one or more networks, and wherein the display device may receive content from the mobile handheld computing device and from the one or more associated networks, a method for customizing the arrangement of content displayed on the display device so as to allow a user to personalize the displayed content for their specific needs, the method comprising:

creating a layout that defines how content is displayed on the display device of the mobile handheld computing device, by performing the acts of;

defining one or more sections of the layout;

specifying one or more content generating elements from which content may be received for one or more of the defined sections of the layout so as to define where content generated by the content generating elements may be displayed; and

defining attributes associated with content received from the one or more selected content generating elements that cause the appearance of content displayed on the display device of the mobile handheld computing device to be customized.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein creating a layout that defines how content is displayed on the display device of the mobile handheld computing device comprises the following:

an act of using a markup language to create a layout that defines how content is displayed on the display device of the mobile haudheld computing device.

3. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the act of using a markup language to create a layout that defines how content is displayed on the display device of the mobile handheld computing device comprises the following:

using an XML based markup language to create a layout that defines how content is displayed on the display device of the mobile handheld computing device.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of specifying one or more content generating elements from which content may be received comprises the following:

an act of including one or more plug-ins in a layout file.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of defining attributes associated with content received from the one or more selected content generating elements that cause the appearance of content displayed on the display device of the mobile handheld computing device to be customized comprises the following:

setting attributes associated with content received from one or more tags associated with a markup language that cause the appearance of content displayed on the display device of the mobile handheld computing device to be customized.

6. The method as recited in claim 5, wherein the act of defining attributes associated with content received from one or more tags associated with a markup language that cause the appearance of content displayed on the display device of the mobile handheld computing device to be customized comprises the following:

an act of setting attributes associated with content received from one or more tags associated with an XML based markup language that cause the appearance of content displayed on the display device of the mobile handheld computing device to be customized.

7. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the act of specifying one or more content generating elements from which content may be received for one or more of the defined sections of the layout so as to define where content generated by the content generating elements may be displayed comprises the following:

an act of associating one or more attributes with one or more markup language based tags specifying a portion of the display device of the mobile handheld computing device where content received from each of the one or more markup language based tags maybe displayed.

8. In a mobile handheld computing device associated with one or more networks, the mobile handheld computing device including a display device and one or more layouts that may render content on the display device, the layouts including one or more attributes, which may be used to customize content before the content is rendered on the display device, and wherein the one or more layouts may receive content from the mobile handheld computing device and from the one or more associated networks, a method for displaying a customized arrangement of content so as to allow a user to personalize the displayed content for their specific needs, the method comprising the acts of:

allowing a user to switch to an individual layout from among the one or more layouts included in the mobile handheld computing device, the individual layout to be used when interfacing with the user;

specifying one or more applications that may generate content for display on the display device of the mobile handheld computing device;

defining attributes for content generated by the one or more applications;

customizing content generated by the one or more applications based on the attributes defined for the content and on information included in the layout; and

rendering the layout to the user on the display device of the mobile handheld computing device.

9. The method as recited in claim 8, wherein the act of allowing a user selection of a layout from among the one or more layouts included in the mobile handheld computing device comprises the following:

an act of receiving from an input user interface a user selection of a layout from among the one or more layouts included in the mobile haudheld computing device.

10. The method as recited in claim 8, wherein the act of specifying one or more applications that may generate content for display on the display device of the mobile handheld computing device comprises the following:

an act of specifying one or more applications included on a network associated with the mobile handheld computing device that may generate content for display on the display device of the mobile handheld computing device.

11. The method as recited in claim 8, wherein the act of defining attributes with content generated by the one or more applications comprises the following:

an act of associating attributes included in markup language based tags with content generated by the one or more applications.

12. The method as recited in claim 11, wherein the act of associating attributes included in markup language based tags with content generated by the one or more applications comprises the following:

an act of associating attributes included in XML based tags with content generated by the one or more applications.

13. The method as recited in claim 8, wherein the act of customizing content generated by the one or more applications based on the attributes defined for the content and on information included in the layout comprises the following:

an act of customizing the content generated by the one or more applications based on attributes included in markup language based tags that are associated with the generated content.

14. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein the act of customizing the content generated by the one or more applications based on attributes included in markup language based tags that are associated with the generated content comprises the following:

an act of customizing the content generated by the one or more applications based on attributes included in XML based tags that are associated with the generated content.

15. The method as recited in claim 8, wherein the act of rendering the layout to the user on the display device of the mobile handheld computing device comprises the following:

an act of rendering only those portions of the layout that are associated with updated content to the user on corresponding portions of the display device of the mobile haudheld computing device.

16. In a mobile handheld computing device associated with one or more networks, the mobile handheld computing device including a display device and one or more layouts that may render content on the display device, the layouts including one or more attributes, which may be used to customize content before the content is rendered on the display device, and wherein the one or more layouts may receive content from the mobile handheld computing device and from the one or more associated networks, a method for displaying a customized arrangement of content so as to allow a user to personalize the displayed content for their specific needs, the method comprising:

an act of allowing user selection of a layout from among the one or more layouts included in the mobile handheld computing device, the individual layout to be used when interfacing with the user;

an act of specifying one or more applications that may generate content for display on the display device of the mobile handheld computing device; and

a step for displaying content generated by the one or more specified content generating applications after the content has been modified by one or more formatting options so as to customize the display of the content on the display device of the mobile handheld computing device.

17. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein the step for displaying content generated by the one or more specified content generating applications after the content has been modified by one or more formatting options so as to customize the display of the content on the display device of the mobile handheld computing device comprises:

an act of modifying the generated content by rendering the generated content according to formatting options included in the layout.

18. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein the step for displaying content generated by the one or more specified content generating applications after the content has been modified by one or more formatting options so as to customize the display of the content on the display device of the mobile handheld computing device comprises:

an act of displaying content only on portions of the display device associated data consuming applications for which content has been modified.

19. A computer program product for implementing, in a mobile haudheld computing device associated with one or more networks, the mobile handheld computing device including a display device and one or more layouts that may render content on the display device, the layouts including one or more attributes, which may be used to customize content before the content is rendered on the display device, and wherein the one or more layouts may receive content from the mobile haudheld computing device and from the one or more associated networks, a method for displaying a customized arrangement of content so as to allow a user to personalize the displayed content for their specific needs, the computer program product comprising:

a physical storage computer-readable medium carrying computer-executable instructions, that when executed at the client system, cause the mobile handheld computing device to perform the method, including the acts of;

allowing a selection of a layout from among the one or more layouts included in the mobile haudheld computing device;

designating, based on the received selection of a layout, one or more applications that may generate content for display on the display device of the mobile handheld computing device;

defining attributes for content generated by the one or more applications;

customizing content generated by the one or more applications based on the attributes defined for the generated content and on information included in the layout; and

rendering the layout on the display device of the mobile handheld computing device.