System for and method of translating motion-based user input between a client device and an application host computer

• US 8,738,814 B1
• Filed: 05/25/2012
• Issued: 05/27/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/25/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Salesforce.com, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Hopto Inc.
• Inventors: Cronin, John
• Primary Examiner(s): SUN, SCOTT C
• Application Number:
  US13/481,750
• Time in Patent Office: 732 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 710/5
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/0383 Remote input, i.e. interface arrangements in which the signals generated by a pointing device are transmitted to a PC at a remote location, e.g. to a PC in a LAN
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/023 Arrangements for converting discrete items of information into a coded form, e.g. arrangements for interpreting keyboard generated codes as alphanumeric codes, operand codes or instruction codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03543 Mice or pucks G06F3/03541 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

A system that translates motion-based user input between a client device and an application host computer. In various embodiments, the system and methods enable an application host computer, application server, or cloud server that supports a first type of input/output (I/O) devices (e.g., mouse, keyboard, and display) to interpret I/O commands from a client device that supports a second type of I/O devices (e.g., touchscreen display), wherein the I/O commands of the client device support motion-based user input. The operations of the interpreted I/O commands are then returned from the application host computer, application server, or cloud server to the client device and rendered on the display thereof. The system and methods enable cross-platform application execution by translating I/O operations that are native to the user'"'"'s remote device to I/O operations that are native to the application host computer, application server, or cloud server.

Claims

1. A method for translating motion-based user input between a client device and an application host computer, the method comprising:

receiving, by a host device from a client device, I/O commands associated with motion-based user input and corresponding to an application being published by the host device, the host device supporting an I/O device of a first type and the client device supporting an I/O device of a different second type;

transmitting, by the host device, the I/O commands to a cloud server;

receiving, by the host device from the cloud server, interpreted I/O commands corresponding to the I/O commands associated with the motion-based user input, the interpretation based a table stored in memory of the cloud server associating each of a plurality of host operations with a corresponding client I/O command; and

sending, by the host device, the interpreted I/O commands operations to the client device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the I/O device of the first type comprises keyboard, scroll bar, mouse, mouse wheel, or hot keys.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the I/O device of the second type is a touchscreen and wherein the motion-based user input comprises gestures.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the motion-based user input includes multi-touch gestures.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the interpretation comprises determining whether the I/O command associated with the motion-based user input is native to the host computer.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the motion-based user input is associated with a location on the I/O device.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the I/O command is identified based on the location of the motion-based user input on the I/O device.

8. An apparatus for translating motion-based user input between a client device and an application host computer, the apparatus comprising:

an I/O device of a first type;

a processor for executing instructions stored in memory, wherein execution of the instructions by the processor publishes an application at a host device; and

a communication interface for;

receiving from a client device I/O commands associated with motion-based user input and corresponding to the application being published by the host device, the client device supporting an I/O device of a different second type;

transmitting the I/O commands to a cloud server; and

receiving from the cloud server interpreted I/O commands corresponding to the I/O commands associated with the motion-based user input, the interpretation based a table stored in memory of the cloud server associating each of a plurality of host operations with a corresponding client I/O command;

wherein the processor executes further instructions to perform operations corresponding to the interpreted I/O commands; and

wherein the communication interface sends the interpreted I/O command operations to the client device.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the I/O device of the second type is a touchscreen and wherein the motion-based user input comprises gestures.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the motion-based user input includes multi-touch gestures.

11. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the interpretation comprises determining whether the I/O command associated with the motion-based user input is native to the host computer.

12. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the motion-based user input is associated with a location on the I/O device.

13. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the I/O command is identified based on the location of the motion-based user input on the I/O device.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, having embodied thereon a program executable by a processor to perform a method for translating motion-based user input between a client device and an application host computer, the method comprising:

receiving from a client device I/O commands associated with motion-based user input and corresponding to an application being published by the host device, the host device supporting an I/O device of a first type and the client device supporting an I/O device of a different second type;

transmitting the I/O commands to a cloud server;

receiving from the cloud server interpreted I/O commands corresponding to the I/O commands associated with the motion-based user input, the interpretation based a table stored in memory of the cloud server associating each of a plurality of host operations with a corresponding client I/O command; and

sending the interpreted I/O commands operations to the client device.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the I/O device of the first type comprises keyboard, scroll bar, mouse, mouse wheel, or hot keys.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the I/O device of the second type is a touchscreen and wherein the motion-based user input comprises gestures.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the motion-based user input includes multi-touch gestures.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the interpretation comprises determining whether the I/O command associated with the motion-based user input is native to the host computer.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the motion-based user input is associated with a location on the I/O device.