Partitioned application presentation across devices

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10635296-B2
Application number	US-201414495228-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 24, 2014
Priority date	Sep 24, 2014
Publication date	Apr 28, 2020
Grant date	Apr 28, 2020

Abstract

In many computing scenarios, a user of a primary device may wish to incorporate an auxiliary device in the presentation of an application. Such incorporation may involve a terminal services session that projects the computing environment of the primary device onto the auxiliary device; mirroring the computing environment of the primary device through the auxiliary device; and/or utilizing applications that interoperate with client applications executing on the second device. However, such techniques may not fully reflect the properties of each device, and/or may only apply to particular applications and/or configurations. Instead, the primary device may adapt the primary computing environment to an auxiliary computing environment according to a device property of the auxiliary device; partition the application into a primary application portion presented within the primary computing environment and an auxiliary application portion presented within the auxiliary computing environment; and transmit the auxiliary computing environment to the auxiliary device.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of presenting an application on both an auxiliary device and a primary device, the method comprising:
presenting the application as a set of user interface elements on the primary device in a pointer-sensitive display that presents an application space comprising a primary application portion; and
responsive to a request to partition the application between the primary device and the auxiliary device:
expanding the application space to add, to the primary application portion an auxiliary application portion;
for a user interface element of the application choosing the auxiliary device to display the user interface element, and selecting a location and a presentation of the user interface element within the auxiliary application portion; and
for the primary device, rearranging the primary application portion of the primary device according to the presentation of the user interface element on the auxiliary device to create a first configuration of the primary application portion; and

responsive to the pointer-sensitive display detecting a pointer gesture that modifies content displayed on the auxiliary application portion, implementing a second configuration of the primary application portion, the second configuration based on the pointer gesture; and
responsive to the pointer-sensitive display detecting a completion of the pointer gesture, restoring the pointer-sensitive display to the first configuration of the primary application portion.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
establishing a connection with the auxiliary device;
detecting a device property of the auxiliary device;
generating the auxiliary application portion adapted from the primary application portion according to the device property of the auxiliary device; and
transmitting the auxiliary application portion to the auxiliary device.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
detecting availability of the auxiliary device by a proximity detector of the primary device, wherein detecting the availability of the auxiliary device comprises detecting physical proximity of the auxiliary device within a physical proximity threshold of the primary device.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the application comprises a presentation of a content item;
the auxiliary application portion presents the content item within the auxiliary device; and
the primary application portion provides a presentation controller that controls presentation of the content item.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the primary device further comprises a first input component; and
the method further comprises:
responsive to receiving a first command from the first input component, apply the first command to the application; and
responsive to receiving, from the auxiliary device, a second command from a second input component of the auxiliary device, apply the second command to the application.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising responsive to receiving a request to present a second application within the primary device, present the second application within the auxiliary device instead of the primary device.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising, while presenting the second application instead of the primary application portion on the primary device, consolidate the primary application portion into the auxiliary application portion presented within the auxiliary device.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the auxiliary device does not have touch capability.

9. A primary device that presents an application together with an auxiliary device, the primary device comprising:
a processor; and
a memory storing instructions that, when executed on the processor, provide:
an application partitioner that:
initially presents the application as a set of user interface elements on the primary device in a pointer-sensitive display that presents an application space comprising a primary application portion; and
responsive to a request to partition the application between the primary device and the auxiliary device:
expands the application space to add, to the primary application portion, an auxiliary application portion;
for a user interface element of the application choose the auxiliary device to display the user interface element, and select a location and presentation of the user interface element within the auxiliary application portion; and
for the primary device, rearranges the primary application portion of the primary device based on a display size or resolution of the primary device and according to the presentation of the user interface element on the auxiliary device to create a first configuration of the primary application portion;

and

a computing environment presenter that:
responsive to the pointer-sensitive display detecting a pointer gesture that modifies content displayed on the auxiliary application portion, implements a second configuration of the primary application portion, the second configuration based on the pointer gesture; and
responsive to the pointer-sensitive display detecting a completion of the pointer gesture, restore the pointer-sensitive display to the first configuration of the primary application portion.

10. The primary device of claim 9 , further comprising an auxiliary computing environment transmitter that transmits an auxiliary computing environment including the auxiliary application portion to the auxiliary device for display on the auxiliary device, wherein:
the auxiliary application portion further comprises a presentation of a content item; and
the auxiliary computing environment transmitter, responsive to detecting a completion of the presentation of the content item, terminates transmission of the auxiliary computing environment to the auxiliary device.

11. The primary device of claim 9 , wherein the application partitioner, responsive to detecting a disconnection of the auxiliary device from the primary device, consolidates the auxiliary application portion of the application into the primary application portion.

12. The primary device of claim 9 , wherein the primary device comprises a mobile phone with a touch-sensitive display.

13. A memory storage device storing instructions that, when executed on a processor of a primary device, cause the primary device to:
present an application as a set of user interface elements on the primary device in a pointer-sensitive display that presents an application space comprising a primary application portion;
responsive to a request to partition the application between the primary device and an auxiliary device:
expand the application space to add, to the primary application portion, an auxiliary application portion;
for a user interface element of the application, choose the auxiliary device to display the user interface element with additional content as compared to the user interface element displayed on the primary device, and select a location and a presentation of the user interface element within the auxiliary application portion; and
for the primary device, rearrange the primary application portion of the primary device according to the presentation of the user interface element on the auxiliary device to create a first configuration of the primary application portion;

responsive to the pointer-sensitive display detecting a pointer gesture that modifies content displayed on the auxiliary application portion, implement a second configuration of the primary application portion, the second configuration based on the pointer gesture; and
responsive to the pointer-sensitive display detecting a completion of the pointer gesture, res

Assignees

• Microsoft Technology Licensing Llc

Inventors

• Threlkeld Elizabeth Fay
• Stauber William Scott
• Mikkola Petteri
• Moran Keri Kruse
• Khoury Issa Y
• Cross Brian David
• Davis Darren Ray
• Sega Giorgio Francesco
• Shipley Kenton Allen
• Balasubramanian Ramrajprabu
• Derks Patrick
• Rahman Mohammed Kaleemur
• Pendlay Ryan Chandler

Classifications

• G06F3/033

  Pointing devices displaced or positioned by the user {, e.g. mice, trackballs, pens or joysticks}; Accessories therefor (digitisers characterised by the transducing means G06F3/041) · CPC title

• G06F3/04883 Primary

  for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text · CPC title

• H04L67/025

  for remote control or remote monitoring of applications · CPC title

• H04L67/10

  in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network (software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46) · CPC title

• G06F3/0486

  Drag-and-drop · CPC title