Zero-click sharing of application context across devices

• US 9,237,189 B2
• Filed: 02/25/2013
• Issued: 01/12/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/09/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Parks, Jason, Pelly, Nicholas Julian, Hamilton, Jeffrey William, Hamilton, Robert William, Hooft, Maarten W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung, Zarni
• Application Number:
  US13/775,737
• Publication Number:
  US 20130173699A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,051 Days
• Field of Search: 709/203, 709217-219, 709223-229, 709/250
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4856 resumption being on a different machine, e.g. task migration, virtual machine migration G06F9/5088 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1083 In-session procedures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1094 Inter-user-equipment sessions transfer or sharing
• 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 67/148 Migration or transfer of sessions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/20 Services signaling; Auxiliary data signalling, i.e. transmitting data via a non-traffic channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

A first client device performs a handoff operation to a second client device by transmitting application information, associated with a first application, to the second client device when the first client device is positioned within a predefined proximity of the second client device. The first application has a first client device user interface state when the handoff operation is performed. Further, the first client device, in response to receiving from another client device application information associated with a second application executed by the other first client device, executes a third application corresponding to the second application with a user interface state corresponding to a user interface state of the other client device.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

establishing, at a first client device, a communication link with a second client device;

receiving, at the first client device, application information associated with a first application executing at the second client device, the second client device having a user interface state of the first application, at least a portion of the application information being received via the communication link; and

executing, at the first client device, a second application corresponding to the first application, the second application having an initial user interface state corresponding to the user interface state of the first application at the second client device;

wherein executing the second application includes transitioning from a system state in which the second application is not executing as a foreground application to a system state in which the second application is executing as the foreground application.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein executing the second application includes beginning to execute the second application when the second application is not actively running at the first client device when the first client device receives the application information.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication link is established with the second client device when the second client device enters a predefined proximity of the first client device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the application information is received at the first client device in response to detecting a “

bump”

indicating physical contact between the first and second client devices.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication link is established with the second client device in response to detecting a “

bump”

indicating physical contact between the first and second client devices.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication link comprises a Near Field Communication link.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising, when the second application is not executing at the first client device when the first client device receives the application information, launching the second application upon receipt of the application information.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, at the first client device, additional application information associated with a third application executing at the second client device; and

executing, at the first client device, a fourth application corresponding to the third application, the fourth application having an initial user interface state corresponding to the user interface state of the third application at the second client device.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein establishing the communication link includes transmitting, from the first client device, user authentication information to the second client device.

10. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

detecting, at a first client device, a transfer triggering condition for transferring an application state to a second client device; and

initiating, at the first client device and in response to detection of the transfer triggering condition, a transfer of application information to the second client device, the application information being associated with a first application executing at the first client device, the first client device having a user interface state of the first application,

wherein receipt of the application information at the second client device causes the second client device to transition from a system state in which a second application corresponding to the first application is not executing as a foreground application to a system state in which the second application is executing as the foreground application.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising notifying the first application that the application information has been transmitted to the second client device.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising changing the user interface state of the first application in response to the notifying.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein changing the user interface state of the first application comprises terminating execution of the first application.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein initiating the transfer of application information to the second client device comprises transferring, from the first client device, the application information to the second client device.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein transferring the application information to the second client device comprises transferring a portion of the application information via Near Field Communication and another portion of the application information via wireless communication other than Near Field Communication.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein initiating the transfer of application information to the second client device comprises providing, from the first client device, a command to a remote server to transfer the application information to the second client device.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein initiating the transfer of application information to the second client device further comprises providing, from the first client device, at least a portion of the application information to the second client device.

18. A computer-implemented method of facilitating transitioning use of an application by a user from a first client device to a second client device, comprising:

establishing, at a first client device, a communication link with a second client device;

receiving, at the first client device, application information associated with each of one or more first applications executing at the second client device, the second client device having a user interface state of each of the one or more first applications, at least a portion of the application information being received via the communication link, wherein a particular first application is executing as a foreground application at the second client device; and

executing, at the first client device, one or more second applications, each of the one or more second applications corresponding to a respective first application of the one or more first applications, each of the second applications having an initial user interface state corresponding to the user interface state of its respective first application at the second client device, wherein the particular first application executing as the foreground application at the second client device corresponds to a particular second application;

wherein executing each of the one or more second applications includes transitioning from a system state in which the particular second application is not executing as a foreground application to a system state in which the particular second application is executing as the foreground application.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein executing the one or more second applications includes automatically starting to execute the one or more second applications when the second application is not actively running at the first client device when the first client device receives the application information.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein receiving application information associated with each of one or more first applications executing at the second client device includes receiving the application information from the second client device, receiving the application information from a remote server, or receiving a portion of the application information from the second client device and another portion from the remote server.