Mobile information apparatus that includes wireless communication circuitry for discovery of an output device for outputting digital content at the wirelessly discovered output device
DCFirst Claim
1. A method for wirelessly outputting, at one or more output devices, digital content from a mobile information apparatus, the mobile information apparatus including:
- at least one processing unit that includes one or more processors,memory for storing at least part of the digital content,one or more wireless communication units, which include one or more communication chips or chipsets, for enabling the mobile information apparatus to wirelessly communicate with the one or more output devices, the one or more output devices are separate devices from the mobile information apparatus,a display screen including a touch sensitive screen interface,a graphical user interface for enabling a user to select a function or an icon displayed over the touch sensitive screen interface,one or more software applications that include a digital imaging application, an audio application, a video application, a document creation application, an e-mail application, or an Internet browsing application,an operating system providing an object model or an application programming interface to facilitate the one or more software applications access to the object model or the application programming interface and to communicate with utilities and services provided by device management applications at the mobile information apparatus, the one or more software applications having access to at least part of the digital content, andoutput manager software, at the mobile information apparatus, for managing and coordinating communication with the one or more output devices to output at least part of the digital content at the one or more output devices,the method comprising;
(1) wirelessly searching, using the one or more wireless communication units of the mobile information apparatus and over radio frequency wireless communication, for the one or more output devices, the wireless searching of the one or more output devices is based, at least in part, on physical distance between the mobile information apparatus and the one or more output devices such that the mobile information apparatus is able to wirelessly search and wirelessly discover the one or more output devices by short range wireless communication;
(2) wirelessly receiving, via the one or more wireless communication units of the mobile information apparatus and over the radio frequency wireless communication, one or more device dependent attributes corresponding to the one or more output devices wirelessly discovered in the wireless search in step (1);
(3) receiving, via the touch sensitive screen interface of the mobile information apparatus, at least an indication of a selected output device from among the one or more output devices that are wirelessly discovered in the wireless search in step (1),(4) passing, at the mobile information apparatus and from the one or more software applications, at least part of the digital content to the output manager software included in the mobile information apparatus, the passing of the at least part of the digital content being facilitated, at least in part, by the operating system included in the mobile information apparatus;
(5) generating, at the mobile information apparatus, output data from the at least part of the digital content passed in step (4) for delivering to the selected output device selected in step (3), the generated output data being associated, at least in part, with the one or more device dependent attributes received in step (2), and the one or more device dependent attributes corresponding to the selected output device selected in step (3); and
(6) wirelessly delivering, via the one or more wireless communication units of the mobile information apparatus and over a radio frequency wireless communication link, at least part of the output data generated in step (5) to the selected output device selected in step (3) for rendering at least part of the digital content, andwherein the one or more software applications, included in the mobile information apparatus, are enabled to wirelessly discover an output device based on physical proximity of the mobile information apparatus to the output device, select the discovered output device using the touch sensitive screen interface, and output at least part of the digital content, via the one or more wireless communication units of the mobile information apparatus and over the radio frequency wireless communication link, to the selected output device.
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Abstract
Information apparatus (e.g., a smart phone) for outputting digital content to an output device is herein disclosed and enabled. The information apparatus includes wireless communication circuitry for wirelessly discovering one or more output devices based, at least in part, on physical proximity and using short range wireless communication. Subsequent to having wirelessly discovered the output devices, the information apparatus receives device dependent attributes from the discovered output devices and provides, on a touch sensitive screen interface, at least an item related to the discovered output devices for selection. The device dependent attributes include information related to the discovered output devices. After the output device is selected, the information apparatus: generates output data from the digital content based, at least in part, on the device dependent attributes, and wirelessly transmits the generated output data to the selected output device for rendering at least part of the digital content.
672 Citations
29 Claims
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1. A method for wirelessly outputting, at one or more output devices, digital content from a mobile information apparatus, the mobile information apparatus including:
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at least one processing unit that includes one or more processors, memory for storing at least part of the digital content, one or more wireless communication units, which include one or more communication chips or chipsets, for enabling the mobile information apparatus to wirelessly communicate with the one or more output devices, the one or more output devices are separate devices from the mobile information apparatus, a display screen including a touch sensitive screen interface, a graphical user interface for enabling a user to select a function or an icon displayed over the touch sensitive screen interface, one or more software applications that include a digital imaging application, an audio application, a video application, a document creation application, an e-mail application, or an Internet browsing application, an operating system providing an object model or an application programming interface to facilitate the one or more software applications access to the object model or the application programming interface and to communicate with utilities and services provided by device management applications at the mobile information apparatus, the one or more software applications having access to at least part of the digital content, and output manager software, at the mobile information apparatus, for managing and coordinating communication with the one or more output devices to output at least part of the digital content at the one or more output devices, the method comprising; (1) wirelessly searching, using the one or more wireless communication units of the mobile information apparatus and over radio frequency wireless communication, for the one or more output devices, the wireless searching of the one or more output devices is based, at least in part, on physical distance between the mobile information apparatus and the one or more output devices such that the mobile information apparatus is able to wirelessly search and wirelessly discover the one or more output devices by short range wireless communication; (2) wirelessly receiving, via the one or more wireless communication units of the mobile information apparatus and over the radio frequency wireless communication, one or more device dependent attributes corresponding to the one or more output devices wirelessly discovered in the wireless search in step (1); (3) receiving, via the touch sensitive screen interface of the mobile information apparatus, at least an indication of a selected output device from among the one or more output devices that are wirelessly discovered in the wireless search in step (1), (4) passing, at the mobile information apparatus and from the one or more software applications, at least part of the digital content to the output manager software included in the mobile information apparatus, the passing of the at least part of the digital content being facilitated, at least in part, by the operating system included in the mobile information apparatus; (5) generating, at the mobile information apparatus, output data from the at least part of the digital content passed in step (4) for delivering to the selected output device selected in step (3), the generated output data being associated, at least in part, with the one or more device dependent attributes received in step (2), and the one or more device dependent attributes corresponding to the selected output device selected in step (3); and (6) wirelessly delivering, via the one or more wireless communication units of the mobile information apparatus and over a radio frequency wireless communication link, at least part of the output data generated in step (5) to the selected output device selected in step (3) for rendering at least part of the digital content, and wherein the one or more software applications, included in the mobile information apparatus, are enabled to wirelessly discover an output device based on physical proximity of the mobile information apparatus to the output device, select the discovered output device using the touch sensitive screen interface, and output at least part of the digital content, via the one or more wireless communication units of the mobile information apparatus and over the radio frequency wireless communication link, to the selected output device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A mobile information apparatus for wirelessly outputting digital content at one or more output devices, the mobile information apparatus including:
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a voice communication functionality for voice communication, an image acquisition functionality for image acquisition, a wireless communication unit that includes a radio frequency link controller to enable the mobile information apparatus to wirelessly communicate with the one or more output devices that are separate devices from the mobile information apparatus, a touch sensitive screen, a graphical user interface for enabling a user to invoke functions by selecting an item displayed on the touch sensitive screen, a processing unit that includes at least one processor, memory for storing at least part of the digital content, an audio application or a video application, one or more applications that include a document creation application, an e-mail application, or an Internet browsing application installed or included in the mobile information apparatus, with access to at least part of the digital content, and an operating system providing an application programming interface (API) to facilitate the one or more applications with access to at least part of the digital content, the mobile information apparatus, facilitated at least in part by the processing unit and the operating system, being configured to; (1) wirelessly search, using the wireless communication unit of the mobile information apparatus, for the one or more output devices; (2) wirelessly discover, using the wireless communication unit of the mobile information apparatus, the one or more output devices subsequent to the wireless search in step (1), the wireless discovery is based, at least in part, on the one or more output devices being available within a physical distance from the mobile information apparatus for the mobile information apparatus to wirelessly discover the one or more output devices; (3) wirelessly receive, using the wireless communication unit of the mobile information apparatus and from the one or more output devices wirelessly discovered in step (2), one or more device dependent attributes corresponding to the one or more output devices wirelessly discovered in step (2); (4) receive, at the mobile information apparatus and using the graphical user interface over the touch sensitive screen, at least an indication of a selected output device, from among the one or more output devices wirelessly discovered in step (2); (5) obtain at least part of the digital content, at the mobile information apparatus, using, at least in part, the one or more applications; (6) generate, by the mobile information apparatus, output data from the at least part of the digital content obtained at the mobile information apparatus in step (5), the output data is generated for delivering to the selected output device selected in step (4), and the output data is generated based, at least in part, on the one or more device dependent attributes having been received in step (3), and the one or more device dependent attributes are corresponding to the selected output device selected in step (4); and (7) wirelessly deliver, using the wireless communication unit of the mobile information apparatus and over a wireless communication link, at least part of the output data generated in step (6) from the mobile information apparatus to the selected output device selected in step (4) for rendering at least part of the digital content, and wherein the one or more applications, which are included in the mobile information apparatus, are enabled to output at least part of the digital content from the mobile information apparatus to the selected output device selected in step (4), using the wireless communication unit, after having wirelessly discovered the selected output device in step (2). - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having recorded therein software or firmware for an information apparatus to wirelessly output digital content at one or more output devices, the information apparatus includes:
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at least one processing unit that includes at least one processor, memory or storage for storing at least part of the digital content, a wireless communication unit including one or more wireless communication chips or chipsets for establishing a wireless communication link with the one or more output devices, the one or more output devices are separate devices from the information apparatus, a display screen, a touch sensitive screen interface for interaction with a user, one or more applications that include at least one of a digital imaging application, an audio application, a video application, a document creation application, an e-mail application, or an Internet browsing application, and an operating system providing an application programming interface (API) facilitating the one or more applications to interface and communicate with device management applications included in the information apparatus, and wherein execution of the software or firmware, by the at least one processing unit of the information apparatus, performs a data output method at the information apparatus, comprising; (1) wirelessly searching, using the wireless communication unit of the information apparatus and over short range wireless communication, for the one or more output devices; (2) wirelessly discovering, using the wireless communication unit of the information apparatus, the one or more output devices, the wireless discovery is based, at least in part, on the short range wireless communication between the information apparatus and the one or more output devices, and the wireless discovery of the one or more output devices being subsequent to the wireless searching in step (1); (3) wirelessly receiving, using the wireless communication unit of the information apparatus, one or more device dependent attributes corresponding to the one or more output devices wirelessly discovered in step (2); (4) obtaining, via the touch sensitive screen interface of the information apparatus, at least an indication of a selected output device from among the one or more output devices that are wirelessly discovered in step (2), the indication of selection of the selected output device is based, at least in part, on the one or more device dependent attributes wirelessly received in step (3); (5) processing, at the information apparatus, at least part of the digital content to generate output data that is compatible as input to the selected output device selected in step (4), the output data is generated based, at least in part, on having wirelessly received the one or more device dependent attributes in step (3), and the one or more device dependent attributes being related to the selected output device selected in step (4); and (6) wirelessly transmitting, using the wireless communication unit of the information apparatus and over the wireless communication link, at least part of the output data generated in step (5) from the information apparatus to the selected output device selected in step (4), for rendering at least part of the digital content. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method for wirelessly transmitting digital content from an information apparatus to one or more wireless output devices, the information apparatus being a portable and wireless information apparatus, the information apparatus including one or more applications with access to the digital content, the one or more applications include at least one of an e-mail application, a digital imaging application, an audio application, a video application, a document creation application, or an Internet browsing application, individually or in any combination;
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operating system software included in the information apparatus supporting an object model or an application programming interface (API) to facilitate operations of at least one of said e-mail application, said digital imaging application, said audio application, said video application, said document creation application, or said Internet browsing application; and wherein the information apparatus is operable to allow a user of the information apparatus to install additional applications for running on said operating system software to further expand functionalities of the information apparatus;
the information apparatus further including;a touch sensitive screen, a graphical user interface over the touch sensitive screen for interacting with the user, one or more processors, memory or storage for storing at least a portion of the digital content, and wireless communication circuitry that includes one or more wireless communication units for radio frequency wireless communication with the one or more wireless output devices, and wherein the method comprises; accessing, by at least one application from the one or more applications at the information apparatus, at least part of the digital content from the memory or the storage; wirelessly discovering, using the wireless communication circuitry of the information apparatus and over radio frequency wireless communication, one or more wireless output devices that are available for service, the one or more wireless output devices being separate devices from the information apparatus; displaying, on the touch sensitive screen of the information apparatus, a list of items related to the one or more wireless output devices that are wirelessly discovered by the information apparatus, for selection by the user; receiving, via the touch sensitive screen of the information apparatus and from the user, at least an indication of selection of an item from among the list of items related to the one or more wireless output devices, which are displayed on the touch sensitive screen, the selection of the item being related to a selected wireless output device from among the one or more wireless output devices that are wirelessly discovered to be available for service; wirelessly receiving, via the wireless communication circuitry of the information apparatus and over the radio frequency wireless communication, device information corresponding to the selected wireless output device that is selected from among the one or more wireless output devices wirelessly discovered, by the information apparatus, to be available for service; generating, using, at least in part, the one or more processors of the information apparatus, output data for wirelessly transferring or wirelessly outputting at the selected wireless output device, the output data being related, at least in part, to the digital content accessed by the at least one application, and the generating of the output data being subsequent to having wirelessly received the device information corresponding to the selected wireless output device; and wirelessly transferring or wirelessly outputting, over the radio frequency wireless communication and via the wireless communication circuitry, at least part of the output data from the information apparatus to the selected wireless output device for playing or outputting at least part of the digital content; and wherein at least part of the digital content that is accessible by at least one of said e-mail application, said digital imaging application, said audio application, said video application, said document creation application, or said Internet browsing application, individually or in any combination, is wirelessly transferred or wirelessly outputted to the selected wireless output device, over the radio frequency wireless communication, and the wireless transferring or outputting of the at least part of the output data is based, at least in part, on the information apparatus having wirelessly discovered the selected wireless output device to be available for service and having received, via the touch sensitive screen, the indication of selection of the item that is displayed on the touch sensitive screen of the information apparatus; and wherein the information apparatus is at least one of a smart phone, an information pad, a digital pad, an e-book, an Internet appliance, or a digital camera, individually or in any combination. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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Specification