System and method of inter-widget communication
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method of controlling when widgets are displayed, as a function of when their display is requested, said method comprising:
- assigning a plurality of widgets to a widget group, wherein the widgets of the widget group have a functional relationship with one another, the functional relationship enables sharing of information between the widgets of the widget group, the shared information allows selection and control of content rendered in the respective widgets of the widget group,wherein the functional relationship between the widgets is structured in a hierarchical fashion to manage and control inter-widget communication, the hierarchical structure enables sharing at least a portion of widget settings of one widget in the widget group with other widgets in the widget group, so as to affect content presented in the other widgets,wherein the hierarchical structure defined by the functional relationship is configured to assign a second widget in the hierarchical structure to share the portion of the widget settings with the other widgets in the widget group, when the other widgets in the widget group do not have relevant content for rendering for the portion of the widget settings shared by the one widget, the assignment of the second widget causing adjustment to the portion of the widget settings that influence content presented by the other widgets on both sides of the hierarchical structure of the widget group;
defining a durational period to display the widgets from the widget group; and
determining whether the widgets from the widget group should be displayed in response to a display request.
9 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus enabling inter-widget communication and control uses a central server to receive selected widgets and settings associated with at least one widget, wherein the received settings are used to at least partly determine the settings of the other selected widgets according to a pre-defined relationship between or among the widgets.
-
Citations
21 Claims
-
1. A method of controlling when widgets are displayed, as a function of when their display is requested, said method comprising:
-
assigning a plurality of widgets to a widget group, wherein the widgets of the widget group have a functional relationship with one another, the functional relationship enables sharing of information between the widgets of the widget group, the shared information allows selection and control of content rendered in the respective widgets of the widget group, wherein the functional relationship between the widgets is structured in a hierarchical fashion to manage and control inter-widget communication, the hierarchical structure enables sharing at least a portion of widget settings of one widget in the widget group with other widgets in the widget group, so as to affect content presented in the other widgets, wherein the hierarchical structure defined by the functional relationship is configured to assign a second widget in the hierarchical structure to share the portion of the widget settings with the other widgets in the widget group, when the other widgets in the widget group do not have relevant content for rendering for the portion of the widget settings shared by the one widget, the assignment of the second widget causing adjustment to the portion of the widget settings that influence content presented by the other widgets on both sides of the hierarchical structure of the widget group; defining a durational period to display the widgets from the widget group; and determining whether the widgets from the widget group should be displayed in response to a display request. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
-
-
11. A system for controlling when widgets are displayed, as a function of when their display is requested, said system comprising:
-
at least one server configured to receive an assignment of a plurality of widgets to a widget group, wherein the widgets of the widget group have a functional relationship with one another, the functional relationship enables sharing of information between the widgets of the widget group, the shared information allows selection and control of content rendered in the respective widgets of the widget group, wherein the functional relationship between the widgets is structured in a hierarchical fashion to manage and control inter-widget communication, the hierarchical structure enables sharing at least a portion of widget settings of one widget in the widget group with other widgets in the widget group, so as to affect content presented in the other widgets, wherein the hierarchical structure defined by the functional relationship is configured to assign a second widget in the hierarchical structure to share the widget settings with the other widgets in the widget group, when the widgets in the widget group do not have relevant content for rendering for the portion of the widget settings shared by the one widget, the widget settings of the second widget affecting content presented by the other widgets on both sides of the hierarchical structure of the widget group; wherein the at least one server is further configured to receive a durational period to display the widgets from the widget group; and wherein the at least one server is further configured to determine whether the widgets from the widget group are to be displayed in response to a display request. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
-
-
19. A method of controlling when widgets are displayed, as a function of when their display is requested, said method comprising:
-
assigning a plurality of widgets to a widget group, the widgets in the widget group having a functional relationship with one another, the functional relationship enables sharing of information between the widgets of the widget group, the shared information allows selection and control of content rendered in the respective one of the plurality of widgets of the widget group, wherein the functional relationship between the widgets is structured in a hierarchical fashion to manage and control inter-widget communication and to allow content preferences to be shared amongst widgets in the widget group, wherein the structuring in the hierarchical fashion includes, assigning one widget from among the plurality of widgets to be a master widget, the master widget sharing at least one widget setting with other widgets in the widget group, so as to affect content presented in the other widgets; when the other widgets in the widget group do not have relevant content for rendering for the at least one widget setting of the master widget, assigning a second widget in the hierarchical structure to be the master widget, the widget setting of the second widget shared with the other widgets on both sides of the hierarchical structure so as to affect content presented by the other widgets of the widget group; defining a durational period that includes a start date, an end date, a start time, and an end time to display the widgets from the widget group; and determining whether the widgets from the widget group are to be displayed in response to the display request based on the durational period. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21)
-
Specification