Techniques for synchronization of a print menu and document annotation renderings between a computing device and a mobile device logged in to the same account

• US 8,898,557 B1
• Filed: 03/21/2012
• Issued: 11/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Vagell, Vance Julius
• Primary Examiner(s): Paula, Cesar
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mrabi, Hassan
• Application Number:
  US13/426,038
• Time in Patent Office: 979 Days
• Field of Search: 715/230
• US Class Current: 715/230
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1292 Mobile client, e.g. wireless printing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/169 Annotation, e.g. comment data or footnotes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/101 Collaborative creation, e.g. joint development of products or services

Abstract

A computer-implemented method includes providing, from a server including one or more processors, a user interface element to a first computing device, wherein the first computing device is associated with a user, and the server determines that the user is associated with a second computing device that is a mobile computing device having a digital display and is logged into an account at both the first and second computing devices. The method further includes receiving a user request for a rendering of a document issued by the first computing device upon selection of the user interface element by a user, and transmitting a command to the second computing device that causes the second computing device to automatically display the rendering of the document. The method further includes receiving and storing annotation information corresponding to one or more annotations to the rendering made at the second computing device.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

determining, at a server including one or more processors, whether a user is logged into a same account at both a computing device and a handheld mobile computing device having a touch display;

in response to determining that the user is logged into the same account at both the computing device and the handheld mobile computing device, providing, from the server, a user interface element to the computing device, wherein receiving the user interface element causes the computing device to display the user interface element in a print menu of document editing software that is executing on the computing device and currently editing a document;

receiving, at the server, a user request for a rendering of the document at the handheld mobile computing device, the user request being issued by the computing device upon selection of the user interface element by the user at the computing device;

transmitting, from the server, a command to the handheld mobile computing device that causes the handheld mobile computing device to automatically display the rendering of the document;

receiving, at the server, annotation information from the handheld mobile computing device, the annotation information corresponding to one or more handwritten annotations to the rendering made by the user via the touch display of the handheld mobile computing device; and

storing, at a memory of the server, the annotation information.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the annotation information includes one or more layers including the one or more handwritten annotations, the one or more layers overlaying the rendering of the document.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the rendering comprises an image of the document.

4. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving, at a handheld mobile computing device including one or more processors, a command from a server, the command being associated with a user request received at another computing device for a rendering of a document being edited in document editing software executing at the other computing device, wherein the server provides a user interface element to the other computing device in response to determining that a user is logged into a same account at both the handheld mobile computing device and the other computing device, wherein receipt of the user interface element causes the other computing device to display the user interface element in a print menu of the document editing software, and wherein the user request is indicative of a selection of the user interface element at the other computing device;

obtaining, at the handheld mobile computing device, the rendering of the document;

automatically displaying, at a touch display of the handheld mobile computing device, the rendering of the document in response to the command;

receiving, via the touch display of the handheld mobile computing device, handwritten annotations to the rendering of the document from the user; and

generating, at the handheld mobile computing device, an annotated version of the rendering by overlaying the handwritten annotations over the rendering of the document.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein the annotated version of the rendering includes a plurality of layers, the plurality of layers including the rendering of the document and one or more layers of the handwritten annotations made by the user via the handheld mobile computing device.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein the one or more layers of handwritten annotations are separated based on at least one of an annotation mode used by the user to make the handwritten annotations and a time at which the user made the handwritten annotations.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, further comprising transmitting, from the mobile computing device, the one or more layers of the handwritten annotations but not the rendering to the server for storage.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, further comprising receiving an input from the user at the handheld mobile computing device after generation of the annotated version of the rendering, the input indicating one or more devices to receive the annotated version of the rendering.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, further comprising transmitting, from the handheld mobile computing device, the annotated version of the rendering to a paper printer in response to the input.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, further comprising transmitting, from the handheld mobile computing device, the annotated version of the rendering to the server for storage.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein obtaining the rendering of the document comprises:

receiving, at the handheld mobile computing device, document information associated with the document; and

generating, at the handheld mobile computing device, the rendering of the document based on the document information received.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein obtaining the rendering of the document comprises receiving, at the handheld mobile computing device, the rendering of the document from at least one of the server and the other computing device.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, further comprising preventing, at the handheld mobile computing device, modification of the rendering.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, further comprising determining, at the handheld mobile computing device, that the touch display of the handheld mobile computing device is in an inactive state, wherein automatically displaying the rendering includes activating the touch display.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein automatically displaying the rendering includes filling a usable area of the touch display.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein automatically displaying the rendering includes delaying displaying of the rendering until the handheld mobile computing device is at a particular location or until a particular time.

17. A handheld mobile computing device comprising one or more processors, the handheld mobile computing device further comprising:

a user interface module configured to;

receive, from a server, a command associated with a user request received at another computing device for a rendering of a document being edited in document editing software executing at the other computing device, wherein the server provides a user interface element to the other computing device in response to determining that a user is logged into a same account at both the handheld mobile computing device and the other computing device, wherein receipt of the user interface element causes the other computing device to display the user interface element in a print menu of the document editing software, and wherein the user request is indicative of a selection of the user interface element at the other computing device and

obtain the rendering of the document;

a touch display configured to;

automatically display the rendering of the document in response to the command, and

receive handwritten annotations to the rendering of the document from the user; and

a rendering annotating module configured to generate an annotated version of the rendering by overlaying the handwritten annotations over the rendering of the document.

18. The handheld mobile computing device of claim 17, wherein the annotated version of the rendering includes a plurality of layers, the plurality of layers including the rendering of the document and one or more layers of the handwritten annotations made by the user via the handheld mobile computing device.

19. The handheld mobile computing device of claim 18, wherein the one or more layers of handwritten annotations are separated based on at least one of an annotation mode used by the user to make the handwritten annotations and a time at which the user made the handwritten annotations.

20. The handheld mobile computing device of claim 18, wherein the rendering annotating module is further configured to transmit the one or more layers of the handwritten annotations but not the rendering to the server for storage.

21. The handheld mobile computing device of claim 17, wherein the user interface module is further configured to receive an input from the user after generation of the annotated version of the rendering, the input indicating one or more devices to receive the annotated version of the rendering.

22. The handheld mobile computing device of claim 21, wherein the rendering annotating module is further configured to transmit the annotated version of the rendering to a paper printer in response to the input.

23. The handheld mobile computing device of claim 17, wherein the rendering annotating module is further configured to transmit the annotated version of the rendering to the server for storage in response to the input.

24. The handheld mobile computing device of claim 17, wherein the user interface module obtains the rendering of the document by receiving document information associated with the document, and generates the rendering of the document based on the document information received.

25. The handheld mobile computing device of claim 17, wherein the user interface module obtains the rendering of the document by receiving the rendering of the document from at least one of the server and the other computing device.

26. The handheld mobile computing device of claim 17, wherein the rendering annotating module is further configured to prevent modification of the rendering.

27. The handheld mobile computing device of claim 17, wherein the user interface module is further configured to determine that the touch display is in an inactive state and activate the touch display upon automatically displaying the rendering.

28. The handheld mobile computing device of claim 17, wherein automatically displaying the rendering includes filling a usable area of the touch display.

29. The handheld mobile computing device of claim 17, wherein automatically displaying the rendering includes delaying displaying of the rendering until the handheld mobile computing device is at a particular location or until a particular time.

30. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

detecting, at a server including one or more processors, whether document editor software is currently executing at a computing device that is logged into an account associated with a user;

detecting, at the server, whether a handheld mobile computing device is logged into the account associated with the user;

in response to detecting that (i) the document editor software is currently executing at the computing device and (ii) both the computing device and the handheld mobile computing device are logged into the account;

transmitting, from the server to the computing device, a first command that causes the document editing software to include a selectable command in one of its menus, the selectable command being configured to cause the handheld mobile computing device to obtain an image of a document currently being edited in the document editor software;

receiving, at the server, an indication that the user selected the selectable command at the computing device;

in response to receiving the indication, transmitting, from the server, a second command to the handheld mobile computing device, the second command causing the handheld mobile computing device to;

(i) obtain the image of the document from at least one of the server and the computing device, and

(ii) in response to obtaining the image of the document, automatically displaying the image of the document at a touch display of the handheld mobile computing device;

receive, at the server, annotation information indicative of handwritten annotations made by the user to the image of the document via the touch display of the handwritten mobile computing device, the handwritten annotations having been made by the user in a locked editing mode of the handheld mobile computing device in which the rendering of the document was not modifiable and the handwritten annotations were overlaid to the rendering of the document in one or more layers; and

at least one of;

storing, at the server, the annotation information;

transmitting, from the server to the computing device, the annotation information for at least one of (i) display at the computing device and (ii) storage at the computing device; and

transmitting, from the server to a paper printer (i) directly or (ii) via the computing device, the annotation information and the image of the document, wherein receiving the annotation information and the image of the document causes the paper printer to print the annotation information and the image of the document on paper.

31. The computer-implemented method of claim 30, wherein automatically displaying the image of the document at the touch display of the handheld mobile computing device includes filling an entire usable area of the touch display.

32. The computer-implemented method of claim 31, wherein the locked editing mode prevents the user from utilizing other functions of the handheld computing device until the handwritten annotations are complete.

33. The computer-implemented method of claim 32, wherein the image of the document and the annotation information are received at the paper printer from the handheld mobile computing device (i) directly or (ii) via the computing device.

34. The computer-implemented method of claim 30, further comprising detecting, at the server, whether the handheld mobile computing device is proximate to the computing device.

35. The computer-implemented method of claim 34, wherein in response to detecting that the handheld mobile computing device is proximate to the computing device, the second command causes the handheld mobile computing device to obtain the image of the document directly from the computing device via short-range wireless communication.

36. The computer-implemented method of claim 34, wherein in response to detecting that the handheld mobile computing device is not proximate to the computing device, the second command causes the handheld mobile computing device to obtain the image of the document at least partially from the server.

37. The computer-implemented method of claim 30, wherein the handheld mobile computing device is a tablet computer or a mobile phone.

38. The computer-implemented method of claim 30, wherein the handwritten annotations are made by the user via the touch display of the handheld mobile computing device using at least one of a finger and a stylus.