System and method for displaying a user interface across multiple electronic devices

• US 9,684,434 B2
• Filed: 06/25/2014
• Issued: 06/20/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/21/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Lewin, Mathias, Gardenfors, Dan Zacharias, Eriksson, Marcus
• Primary Examiner(s): Bashore, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): SHREWSBURY, NATHAN K
• Application Number:
  US14/315,009
• Publication Number:
  US 20140310611A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,091 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 3/1446 display composed of modules, e.g. video walls
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2356/00 Detection of the display position w.r.t. other display screens
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/022 Centralised management of display operation, e.g. in a server instead of locally
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/06 Consumer Electronics Control, i.e. control of another device by a display or vice versa
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/12 Synchronisation between the display unit and other units, e.g. other display units, video-disc players

Abstract

A system and method are provided for displaying a user interface using multiple electronic devices. The method comprises providing a first user interface framework on a first electronic device having a first display screen; the first user interface framework determining that a second display screen on a second electronic device is available via a connection between the first and second electronic devices; the first user interface framework using application logic from an application on the first mobile device to determine a first user interface portion to be displayed on the first display screen and a second user interface portion to be displayed on the second display screen; and the first user interface framework providing data associated with the second user interface portion to the second electronic device.

Claims

1. A method of displaying a user interface using multiple electronic devices, the method comprising:

receiving from a first user interface framework on a first electronic device, at a second user interface framework on a second electronic device, data associated with a second user interface portion to be displayed by the second electronic device, the data being received via a connection between the first and second electronic devices, the first electronic device having a first user interface framework and having a first display screen, the first user interface framework handling user interface operations and decisions on behalf of a plurality of different applications on the first electronic device independent of device platform, the first user interface framework having obtained application logic from an application on the first electronic device and used the application logic to determine, for the application, a first user interface portion to be displayed on the first display screen and the second user interface portion to be displayed by the second electronic device; and

the second user interface framework displaying the second user interface portion on a second display screen of the second electronic device, the second user interface framework handling user interface operations and decisions on behalf of a plurality of different applications on the second electronic device independent of device platform, the second user interface framework comprising a rendering engine operable to communicate with a rendering engine of the first user interface framework for displaying the second user interface portion.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising providing one or more screen settings of the second electronic device to the first user interface framework.

3. The method of claim 2, the one or more screen settings comprising at least one screen dimension for generating a combined user interface utilizing the first and second display screens.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

the second user interface framework indicating to the first user interface framework, an interaction with the second user interface portion to enable an update to be applied to at least one of the first user interface portion and the second user interface portion according to the interaction.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the application is notified of the interaction and additional application logic is obtained from the application for updating the at least one of the first user interface portion and the second user interface portion on behalf of the application.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first user interface framework comprises a user interface client engine operable to communicate with the rendering engine of the first user interface framework for displaying the first user interface portion.

7. The method of claim 1, the connection between the first and second electronic device being established using any one or more of a short-range communication connection, a mobile network, a local network, an acoustic channel, a computer vision channel, and communicating sensors.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first and second electronic devices is a mobile device.

9. The method of claim 1, the first and second electronic devices comprising different form factors.

10. The method of claim 1, the application logic defining a distribution of user interface elements across multiple display screens, wherein the distribution of user interface elements is independent of a screen size of the first display screen and a screen size of the second display screen.

11. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising computer executable instructions for displaying a user interface using multiple electronic devices, the computer executable instructions comprising instructions for:

receiving from a first user interface framework on a first electronic device, at a second user interface framework on a second electronic device, data associated with a second user interface portion to be displayed by the second electronic device, the data being received via a connection between the first and second electronic devices, the first electronic device having a first user interface framework and having a first display screen, the first user interface framework handling user interface operations and decisions on behalf of a plurality of different applications on the first electronic device independent of device platform, the first user interface framework having obtained application logic from an application on the first electronic device and used the application logic to determine, for the application, a first user interface portion to be displayed on the first display screen and the second user interface portion to be displayed by the second electronic device; and

the second user interface framework displaying the second user interface portion on a second display screen of the second electronic device, the second user interface framework handling user interface operations and decisions on behalf of a plurality of different applications on the second electronic device independent of device platform, the second user interface framework comprising a rendering engine operable to communicate with a rendering engine of the first user interface framework for displaying the second user interface portion.

12. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium according to claim 11, further comprising providing one or more screen settings of the second electronic device to the first user interface framework.

13. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 12, the one or more screen settings comprising at least one screen dimension for generating a combined user interface utilizing the first and second display screens.

14. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 11, further comprising:

the second user interface framework indicating to the first user interface framework, an interaction with the second user interface portion to enable an update to be applied to at least one of the first user interface portion and the second user interface portion according to the interaction.

15. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the application is notified of the interaction and additional application logic is obtained from the application for updating the at least one of the first user interface portion and the second user interface portion on behalf of the application.

16. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium according to claim 11, wherein the first user interface framework comprises a user interface client engine operable to communicate with the rendering engine of the first user interface framework for displaying the first user interface portion.

17. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 11, the connection between the first and second electronic device being established using any one or more of a short-range communication connection, a mobile network, a local network, an acoustic channel, a computer vision channel, and communicating sensors.

18. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 11, the application logic defining a distribution of user interface elements across multiple display screens, wherein the distribution of user interface elements is independent of a screen size of the first display screen and a screen size of the second display screen.

19. A second electronic device comprising a processor, memory, and a display, the memory comprising computer executable instructions for displaying a user interface using multiple electronic devices, the computer executable instructions comprising instructions for:

receiving from a first user interface framework on a first electronic device, at a second user interface framework on the second electronic device, data associated with a second user interface portion to be displayed by the second electronic device, the data being received via a connection between the first and second electronic devices, the first electronic device having a first user interface framework and having a first display screen, the first user interface framework handling user interface operations and decisions on behalf of a plurality of different applications on the first electronic device independent of device platform, the first user interface framework having obtained application logic from an application on the first electronic device and used the application logic to determine, for the application, a first user interface portion to be displayed on the first display screen and the second user interface portion to be displayed by the second electronic device; and

the second user interface framework displaying the second user interface portion on a second display screen of the second electronic device, the second user interface framework handling user interface operations and decisions on behalf of a plurality of different applications on the second electronic device independent of device platform, the second user interface framework comprising a rendering engine operable to communicate with a rendering engine of the first user interface framework for displaying the second user interface portion.