WIDGET DISCOVERY IN COMPUTING DEVICES

• US 20090037509A1
• Filed: 07/31/2007
• Published: 02/05/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Palm, Inc. (TCL Technology Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Parekh, Manisha, Case, Ryan, Chen, Larry, Boningue, Benoit, Fry, Peter, Donald, Rick, Neelakantan, Radha, Champlin, David
• Granted Patent: US 9,167,070 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/201
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/44526 Plug-ins; Add-ons
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/63 Routing a service request depending on the request content or context
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72406 by software upgrading or downloading
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72445 for supporting Internet browser applications

Abstract

A system and a method are disclosed for discovering widgets for computing devices. A computing device parses data to identify rich content. The computing device searches for widgets supporting the identified rich content in a remote server and retrieves a widget supporting the identified rich content. The computing device executes the widget to process the rich content.

Claims

1. A method for discovering widgets remote from a computing device, the method comprising:

parsing data based on a predetermined criterion;

comparing a section of the data to determine whether the section of the data satisfies the criterion;

transmitting a request for widgets associated with the predetermined criterion in a remote server;

receiving a response corresponding to the request from the remote server, the response including at least one widget associated with the predetermined criterion; and

executing the at least one widget to process the section of the data.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the data comprises at least one selected from a group comprising a message, an email, a document, and a web page.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein searching for the widget supporting the section of the data in the remote server further comprises:

searching for the widget associated with the criterion in the remote server.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the criterion comprises a collection of pre-populated formulas and a collection of pre-identified keywords.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein executing the widget further comprises installing the widget in the computing device.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

prompting a user for a user input whether to execute the widget; and

receiving a user input to execute the widget,

wherein executing the widget further comprises;

responding to the user input, executing the widget to process the section of the data.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the computing device is a mobile computing device.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein parsing the data based on the criterion further comprises:

receiving a user input selecting the section of the data; and

parsing the section of data based on the criterion.

9. A computer readable medium with stored instructions, the instructions when executed by a processor cause the processor to perform a method comprising:

parsing data based on a predetermined criterion;

comparing a section of the data to determine whether the section of the data satisfies the criterion;

transmitting a request for widgets associated with the predetermined criterion in a remote server;

receiving a response corresponding to the request from the remote server, the response including at least one widget associated with the predetermined criterion; and

executing the at least one widget to process the section of the data.

10. The computer readable medium of claim 9, wherein the data comprises at least one selected from a group comprising a message, an email, a document, and a web page.

11. The computer readable medium of claim 9, wherein searching for the widget supporting the section of the data in the remote server further comprises:

searching for the widget associated with the criterion in the remote server.

12. The computer readable medium of claim 9, wherein the criterion comprises a collection of pre-populated formulas and a collection of pre-identified keywords.

13. The computer readable medium of claim 9, wherein executing the widget further comprises installing the widget in the computing device.

14. The computer readable medium of claim 9, wherein the method further comprises prompting a user for a user input whether to execute the widget;

and

receiving a user input to execute the widget,

wherein executing the widget further comprises;

responding to the user input, executing the widget to process the section of the data.

15. A mobile computing device, comprising:

a radio unit configured to communicate with a network;

a computer readable medium configured to store instructions; and

a processing unit coupled to the radio unit and the computer readable medium, the processing unit configured to execute the instructions, the instructions configured to cause the processing unit to perform a method comprising;

parsing data based on a predetermined criterion;

comparing a section of the data to determine whether the section of the data satisfies the criterion;

transmitting a request for widgets associated with the predetermined criterion in a remote server;

receiving a response corresponding to the request from the remote server, the response including at least one widget associated with the predetermined criterion; and

executing the at least one widget to process the section of the data.

16. The mobile computing device of claim 15, wherein the data comprises at least one selected from a group comprising a message, an email, a document, and a web page.

17. The mobile computing device of claim 15, wherein searching for the widget supporting the section of the data in the remote server further comprises:

searching for the widget associated with the criterion in the remote server.

18. The mobile computing device of claim 15, wherein the criterion comprises a collection of pre-populated formulas and a collection of pre-identified keywords.

19. The mobile computing device of claim 15, wherein executing the widget further comprises installing the widget in the computing device.

20. The mobile computing device of claim 15, wherein the method further comprises prompting a user for a user input whether to execute the widget;

and

receiving a user input to execute the widget,

wherein executing the widget further comprises;

responding to the user input, executing the widget to process the section of the data.