Display environment for a plurality of display devices

• US 9,013,366 B2
• Filed: 08/04/2011
• Issued: 04/21/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/04/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Zheng, Qixing, Yalovsky, Mark, Coon, Thomas Scott, Swan, Christopher E., Snitkovskiy, Alex, DeBacker, Gabriel S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Kevin M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ahn, Sejoon
• Application Number:
  US13/198,478
• Publication Number:
  US 20130033414A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,356 Days
• Field of Search: 345/1.1
• US Class Current: 345/1.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1601 Constructional details related to the housing of computer displays, e.g. of CRT monitors, of flat displays constructional details related to flat displays integrated in a portable computer, e.g. laptop, handheld computer G06F1/1637; constructional details related to television receivers H04N5/64
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1612 Flat panel monitor
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1423 controlling a plurality of local displays, e.g. CRT and flat panel display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/452 Remote windowing, e.g. X-Window System, desktop virtualisation protocols for virtual reality H04L67/131
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45512 Command shells
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2354/00 Aspects of interface with display user
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/20 for presentation of an assembly of a number of characters, e.g. a page, by composing the assembly by combination of individual elements arranged in a matrix no fixed position being assigned to or needed to be assigned to the individual characters or partial characters
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72409 by interfacing with external accessories hands-free H04M1/60

Abstract

A display environment for a plurality of display devices is described. In one or more implementations, a display environment of an operating system of a computing device is configured to display a plurality of shells that support user interaction with the operating system by launching a first shell for display on a first display device of the computing device and launching a second shell for display on a second display device of the computing device such that the first and second shells are displayable simultaneously by the computing device.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

configuring a display environment of an operating system of a computing device to display a plurality of shells that support user interaction with the operating system by;

launching a first said shell for display on a first display device of the computing device, the first said shell being a consumptive shell not configured to support a display of depth such that data from one application appears to be displayed over at least a portion of data from another said application; and

launching a second said shell for display on a second display device of the computing device such that the first and second said shells are displayable simultaneously by the computing device, the second said shell being a productive shell configured to support the display of depth such that data from the one application appears to be displayed over at least a portion of data from the another said application.

2. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the display environment is configured such that each said display device is configured to display a single one of the plurality of shells of the operating system, respectively.

3. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the display environment is configured to allow a user to select a particular one of the plurality of shells for input by the user, the configured display environment does not support simultaneous input by the user with the first and second said shells.

4. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the consumptive shell is configured to support user interaction that is based primarily on touch in comparison with user interaction supported by the productive shell that is based primarily on use of a cursor control device.

5. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the productive shell is configured to support display of a plurality of windows that correspond to a plurality of applications that are executable within the productive shell and the consumptive shell, outside of the productive shell, is not configured to support the display of the plurality of windows that correspond to the plurality of applications.

6. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the productive shell is configured to employ chrome and a task bar and the consumptive shell, outside of the productive shell, is not configured to employ chrome and the task bar, chrome comprising a window around the data of the application.

7. A method as described in claim 1, further comprising:

detecting an input that describes a user action to initiate a change from one to another of the plurality of shells; and

making the change from the one to the other of the plurality of shells for at least one of the first or second display devices.

8. A method as described in claim 7, wherein the input describes moving a window from a productive said shell of the first display device to a consumptive said shell of the second display device, wherein making the change causes the consumptive said shell to be replaced by the productive said shell on the second display device.

9. A method as described in claim 7, wherein the input describes launching an application configured for execution in a consumptive said shell of the first display device that currently is configured to output a productive said shell, wherein making the change causes the productive said shell to be replaced by the consumptive said shell on the first display device.

20. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the productive and consumptive shells can be switched on one or both of the respective display devices via launch functionality that is displayable on each of the plurality of display devices.

10. A method comprising:

receiving an input by a computing device to initiate execution of an application by the computing device;

determining which of a plurality of display devices of the computing device with which a user interacted to provide the input;

changing from a consumptive shell to a productive shell or a productive shell to a consumptive shell on the determined display device, the change of shell type based on the application initiated, the productive shell configured to support display of windows that correspond to other applications that are executable within the productive shell, the consumptive shell not configured to support display of windows that correspond to other applications that are executable within the consumptive shell; and

launching execution of the application to display a user interface in the consumptive or the productive shell associated with the application on the determined display device.

11. A method as described in claim 10, wherein the input is received via launch functionality that is displayable on each of the plurality of display devices.

12. A method as described in claim 11, wherein the launch functionality includes a launch menu having a representation of the application that is selectable to provide the input to initiate the execution of the application by the computing device.

13. A method as described in claim 12, wherein the launch menu is configured as a task bar displayable along an edge of a respective said display device.

14. One or more computer readable storage devices comprising stored computer executable instructions thereon that, in response to execution by a computing device, causes the computing device to configure a display environment of an operating system executed by the computing device for display of launch functionality configured to initiate execution of an application, the launch functionality displayable on each of a plurality of display devices that output the display environment of the computing device without reconfiguring settings of the launch functionality to specify a particular one of the plurality of display devices that is to display the launch functionality, the display devices displaying a consumptive shell or a productive shell, the productive shell is configured to employ chrome and a task bar and the consumptive shell, outside of the productive shell, is not configured to employ chrome and the task bar, chrome comprising a window around data of one or more applications displayed by the computing device.

15. One or more computer readable storage devices as described in claim 14, wherein the launch functionality includes a launch menu having a representation of the application that is selectable to provide the input to initiate the execution of the application by the computing device.

16. One or more computer readable storage devices as described in claim 15, wherein the launch menu is configured as a task bar displayable along an edge of a respective said display device.

17. One or more computer readable storage devices as described in claim 15, wherein the task bar includes auto-hide functionality such that the task bar is displayable on a respective said display device responsive to an input received at the respective said display device.

18. One or more computer readable storage devices as described in claim 15, wherein the task bar includes at least one representation of an application that is currently executed on the computing device, the representation selectable to navigate to the application.

19. One or more computer readable storage devices as described in claim 14, wherein the display environment of the operating system includes the plurality of display devices, a first display device configured to display the consumptive shell and a second display device configured to display the productive shell, the consumptive shell configured to support user interaction that is based primarily on touch and the productive shell configured to support user interaction that is based primarily on use of a cursor control device.