Sharing content with nearby devices

• US 9,961,494 B2
• Filed: 08/14/2012
• Issued: 05/01/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Kannan, Akshay
• Primary Examiner(s): TRAN, TAM T
• Application Number:
  US13/585,748
• Publication Number:
  US 20140053078A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,086 Days
• Field of Search: 715748, 715862, 715863, 715864
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/131 Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/18 Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 for social networking applications

Abstract

Various aspects of the subject technology relate to systems, methods, and machine-readable media for sharing content with a nearby device. A system is configured receive, from a sending device, a request to share content, wherein the request comprises location information associated with a location of the sending device and content characteristics, determine, based on the location information and the content characteristics, that one or more receiving devices are within a proximity threshold of the location of the sending device and are capable of loading content associated with the content characteristics, receive, from the sending device, a selection of a receiving device from the one or more receiving devices and content to be shared, and provide the content to be shared to the selected receiving device.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for sharing content with a nearby device, the method comprising:

receiving, from each receiving device of a plurality of receiving devices, a registration of an authorization to load content having one or more predetermined content characteristics onto the receiving device from another device, the one or more predetermined content characteristics comprising a file format, the authorization to load content comprising an authorized action associated with the one or more predetermined content characteristics of the content;

receiving, from a sending device, a request to share content, wherein the request comprises location information associated with the sending device, content characteristics of the content to be shared, and a respective action to be performed for the content to be shared, the location information indicating a list of detected networks associated with the sending device;

determining that at least one receiving device of the plurality of receiving devices is within a proximity threshold of the sending device based on location information, and that the at least one receiving device of the plurality of receiving devices previously registered an authorization to load content having the content characteristics of the content to be shared, and an authorization to perform the respective action of the request to share content, the proximity threshold comprising a percentage of networks from the list of detected networks that the sending device and the at least one receiving device share in common;

receiving, from the sending device, a selection of a receiving device from the at least one receiving device of the plurality of receiving devices and the content to be shared; and

providing the content to be shared to the selected receiving device.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the request to share content is generated by the sending device in response to a user gesture.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the user gesture comprises a dragging gesture of a file associated with the content to be shared.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of receiving devices are configured to load the content when the content is convertible into a file format that is loadable by the plurality of receiving devices.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising converting the content to be shared into a file format that is loadable by the selected receiving device.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the content is automatically loaded by the selected receiving device.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, wherein the content to be shared is a video file, and wherein the respective action of the request to share content comprises playing the video file.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the content is received from the sending device in a separate communication from the selection of the receiving device.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising generating a record for each receiving device of the plurality of receiving devices during a registration process.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the sending device and the selected receiving device are on different sub-networks.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the request comprises the list of detected networks associated with the sending device, the sending device.

12. A system for sharing content with a nearby device, the system comprising:

one or more processors; and

a machine-readable medium comprising instructions stored therein, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising;

receiving, from each receiving device of a plurality of receiving devices, a registration of an authorization to load content having one or more predetermined content characteristics onto the receiving device from another device, the one or more predetermined content characteristics comprising a file format, the authorization to load content comprising an authorized action associated with the one or more predetermined content characteristics of the content;

receiving, from a sending device, a request to share content, wherein the request comprises location information associated with the sending device, content characteristics of the content to be shared, and a respective action to be performed for the content to be shared, the location information indicating a list of detected networks associated with the sending device;

identifying receiving devices based on location information and the content characteristics of the content to be shared, wherein at least one receiving device of the identified receiving devices is within a proximity threshold of the sending device, and that the at least one receiving device previously registered an authorization to load content having the content characteristics of the content to be shared, and an authorization to perform the respective action of the request to share content, the proximity threshold comprising a percentage of networks from the list of detected networks that the sending device and the at least one receiving device share in common;

receiving, from the sending device, a selection of a receiving device from the at least one receiving device of the identified receiving devices and the content to be shared; and

transmitting the content to be shared to the selected receiving device.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the request to share content is generated by the sending device in response to a user gesture.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the operations further comprise converting the content to be shared into a file format that is loadable by the selected receiving device.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the content is received from the sending device in a separate communication from the selection of the receiving device.

16. The system of claim 12, further comprising generating a record for each receiving device of the plurality of receiving devices during a registration process.

17. The system of claim 12, wherein the request to share content is received from the sending device via a first sub-network, wherein the content to be shared is transmitted to the selected receiving device via a second sub-network.

18. A non-transitory machine-readable medium comprising instructions stored therein, which when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform operations comprising:

receiving, from each receiving device of a plurality of receiving devices, a registration of an authorization to load content having one or more predetermined content characteristics onto the receiving device from another device, the one or more predetermined content characteristics comprising a file format, the authorization to load content comprising an authorized action associated with the one or more predetermined content characteristics of the content;

receiving, from a sending device, a request to share content, wherein the request comprises location information associated with the sending device, content characteristics of the content to be shared, and a respective action to be performed for the content to be shared, the location information indicating a list of detected networks associated with the sending device;

determining that at least one receiving device of the plurality of receiving devices is within a proximity threshold of the sending device, and that the at least one receiving device of the plurality of receiving devices previously registered an authorization to load content having the content characteristics of the content to be shared, and an authorization to perform the respective action of the request to share content, the proximity threshold comprising a percentage of networks from the list of detected networks that the sending device and the at least one receiving device share in common;

receiving, from the sending device, a selection of a receiving device from the at least one receiving device of the plurality of receiving devices and the content to be shared; and

providing the content to be shared to the selected receiving device.

19. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the request to share content is generated by the sending device in response to a user dragging a file associated with the content to be shared.

20. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the plurality of receiving devices are configured to load the content when the content is convertible into a file format that is loadable by the plurality of receiving devices.