Apparatus and methods for facilitating context handoff between devices in a cloud based wireless personal area network

• US 10,545,641 B2
• Filed: 08/03/2015
• Issued: 01/28/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Das, Sujoy
• Primary Examiner(s): Klicos, Nicholas
• Application Number:
  US14/816,707
• Publication Number:
  US 20160034123A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,639 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/148 Migration or transfer of sessions
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/60 Subscription-based services using application servers or record carriers, e.g. SIM application toolkits

Abstract

An apparatus obtains application state information for another device and displays a login screen on a display that provides information for at least one application running on the other device. The information displayed may be an icon corresponding to an application running on the other device. The application state information may include an application identifier, a content identifier and a pointer to a location at which a given content is accessed by the application. An apparatus includes a display, application state monitor logic, operative to obtain application state information for another device, and login screen configuration logic, operatively coupled to the display. The login screen configuration logic is operative to configure a login screen on the display to provide information for at least one application running on the other device, based on the application state information for the other device obtained by the application state monitor logic.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

transmitting a device profile of a first device to a server;

receiving from the server, a peer table that is partitioned to include a first database table that includes the device profile of the first device and a second database table that includes peer-to-peer connectivity information for establishing peer-to-peer connections with other devices on a network, wherein the devices include at least the first device that is designated in the second database table as being in an active state and a second device that is designated in the second database table as being a passive state and wherein the second database table was updated based on the device profile of the first device;

sending, to the server, a first context activity update for updating the peer table on the server and other devices on the network, wherein the first context activity update includes first application state information associated with a first application that is providing content on the first device, and wherein the first application state information includes a first context activity information associated with the first device and the device profile of the first device;

receiving a second context activity update for updating the peer table, wherein the second context activity update includes context activity information associated with a second device; and

in response to receiving the second context activity update, causing a handoff based on the first context activity information, the second context activity information, and the device profile of the first device, wherein the context handoff causes the content being provided on the first device to be provided on the second device and wherein the context handoff includes transmitting a handoff request to the second device that automatically causes a remaining portion of the content to be presented on the second device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first context activity information includes a battery power level of the first device.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the content being provided on the first device is media content, and the method further comprises:

receiving information associated with an amount of time remaining to present the media content.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

based on the device profile of the first device, providing a user prompt, the user prompt configured to receive a user input associated with permitting the handoff.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

in response to receiving a user response to the user prompt, causing the first user device to transmit the content being provided on the first device to the second device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the content being provided on the first device is media content, and the method further comprises:

establishing a peer-to-peer connection between the first device and the second device; and

streaming the media content from the first device to the second device via the peer-to-peer connection.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a proximity between the first device and the second device.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

determining that the proximity between the first device and the second device is below a predetermined threshold.

9. An apparatus, comprising:

at least one hardware processor configured to;

transmit a device profile of a first device to a server;

receive, from the server, a peer table that is partitioned to include a first database table that includes the device profile of the first device and a second database table that includes peer-to-peer connectivity information for establishing peer-to-peer connections with other devices on a network, wherein the devices include at least the first device that is designated in the second database table as being in an active state and a second device that is designated in the second database table as being in a passive state and wherein the second database table was updated based on the device profile of the first device;

send, to the server, a first context activity update for updating the peer table on the server and other devices on the network, wherein the first context activity update includes first application state information associated with a first application that is providing content on the first device, and wherein the first application state information includes a first context activity information associated with the first device and the device profile of the first device;

receive a second context activity update for updating the peer table, wherein the second context activity update includes second context activity information associated with second device; and

in response to receiving the second context activity update, cause a context handoff based on the first context activity information, the second context activity information, and the device profile of the first device, wherein the context handoff causes the content being provided on the first device to be provided on the second device and wherein the context handoff includes transmitting a handoff request to the second device that causes a remaining portion of the content to be presented on the second device.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the first context activity information includes a battery power level of the first device.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the content being provided on the first device is media content, and the method further comprises:

receiving information associated with an amount of time remaining to present the media content.

12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the hardware processor is further configured to:

based on the device profile of the first device of the first device profile information, provide a user prompt, the user prompt configured to receive a user input associated with permitting the handoff.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the hardware processor is further configured to:

in response to receiving a user response to the user prompt, cause the first user device to transmit the content being provided on the first device to the second device.

14. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the content being provided on the first device is media content, and the hardware processor is further configured to:

establish a peer-to-peer connection between the first device and the second device; and

stream the media content from the first device to the second device via the peer-to-peer connection.

15. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the hardware processor is further configured to:

determine a proximity between the first device and the second device.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the hardware processor is further configured to:

determine that the proximity between the first device and the second device is below a predetermined threshold.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing computer executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method, the method comprising:

transmitting a device profile of a first device to a server;

receiving, from the server, a peer table that is partitioned to include a first database table that includes the device profile of the first device and a second database table that includes peer-to-peer connectivity information for establishing peer-to-peer connections with other devices on a network, wherein the devices include at least the first device that is designated in the second database table as being in an active state and a second device that is designated in the second database table as being in a passive state and wherein the second database table was updated based on the device profile of the first device;

sending, to the server, a first context activity update for updating the peer table on the server and other devices on the network, wherein the first context activity update includes first application state information associated with a first application that is providing content on the first device, and wherein the first application state information includes a first context activity information associated with the first device and the device profile of the first device;

receiving a second context activity update for updating the peer table, wherein the second context activity update includes second context activity information associated with second device; and

in response to receiving the second context activity update, causing a context handoff based on the first context activity information, the second context activity information, and device profile of the first device, wherein the context handoff causes the content being provided on the first device to be provided on the second device and wherein the context handoff includes transmitting a handoff request to the second device that causes a remaining portion of the content to be presented on the second device.