Method and apparatus for allowing drag-and-drop operations across the shared borders of adjacent touch screen-equipped devices

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9367224-B2
Application number	US-201113098129-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 29, 2011
Priority date	Apr 29, 2011
Publication date	Jun 14, 2016
Grant date	Jun 14, 2016

Abstract

A user interface(s) in which the displays of different devices become “synchronized” when the devices are brought into close proximity with one another. One exemplary embodiment permits drag-and-drop procedures that originate on one device to be terminated on the other. Illustratively, the solution could be handled in the following manner:
The user would place the second device alongside or in close proximity to the first device, The two devices would detect each other, The user would touch the representation (such as an icon) of the party on the second device's display that they wish to add to the call, The user would slide the representation across the first device/second device border onto the first device's screen, The user would slide the representation to a spotlight or hot spot and then lift the finger from the screen, The party would be connected to the call.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for transferring information comprising:
detecting, by a processor, that a first device is in close proximity to a second device, wherein the second device has an active voice or video call from a first party to a second party;
in response to the detecting that the first device is in close proximity to the second device, associating, by the processor, the first device with the second device;
detecting, by the processor, a drag-and-drop operation from the first device to the second device, the drag-and-drop operation indicative of a desire to transfer information from the first device to the second device; and
in response to detecting the drag-and-drop operation from the first device to the second device:
causing, by the processor, synchronization of at least a portion of a display of the second device;
receiving, by the processor, the transferred information from the first device, wherein the transferred information is information about a third party to be added to the active voice or video call on the second device between the first party and the second party, and wherein the information about the third party is not on the second device before the information about the third party is transferred; and
adding, by the processor, the third party to the active voice or video call on the second device.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second device comprises a plurality of devices, and further comprising detecting, by the processor, movement of an icon representing the third party in a direction corresponding to one of the plurality of devices, wherein the information is transferred to the one of the plurality of devices based on its position relative to other ones of the plurality of devices.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising detecting, by the processor, compatibility of the second device.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first device is a communications device with a touch screen.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the third party is represented by an icon.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the active call is the video call.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the active call is the voice call.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first device and the second device are communication devices and wherein synchronizing at least a portion of a display of the second device to the first device permits the drag-and-drop operation to originate on the first device and permits the drag-and-drop operation to be terminated on the second device, wherein terminating the drag-and-drop operation on the second device comprises continuing a display of the drag-and-drop operation on the second device.

9. A first device to transfer information comprising:
a microprocessor; and
a computer readable medium, coupled with the microprocessor and comprising microprocessor readable and executable instructions that cause the microprocessor to execute:
a proximity module that detects a second device is in proximity to the first device and associates the second device with the first device, wherein the second device has an active voice or video call from a first party to a second party;
a drag-and-drop module that detects a drag-and-drop operation from the first device to the second device, the drag-and-drop operation indicative of a desire to transfer information from the first device to the second device, and transfers information from the first device to the second device in response to detecting the drag-and-drop operation from the first device to the second device, wherein the transferred information is information about a third party to be added to the active voice or video call between the first party and the second party on the second device and wherein the information about the third party is not on the second device before the information about the third party is transferred; and
a synchronization module that causes synchronization of at least a portion of a display of the second device and causes the third party to be added to the voice or video call between the first party and second party in response to detecting the drag-and-drop operation.

10. The first device of claim 9 , further comprising a destination compatibility module that detects compatibility of the second device.

11. The first device of claim 9 , wherein an icon of the second device is displayed on the first device.

12. The first device of claim 9 , wherein the first device is a communications device with a touch screen.

13. The first device of claim 9 , wherein the active call is the voice call.

14. The first device of claim 9 , wherein the active call is the video call.

15. A first device to receive transferred information comprising:
a microprocessor; and
a computer readable medium, coupled with the microprocessor and comprising microprocessor readable and executable instructions that cause the microprocessor to execute;
a proximity module that detects a second device is in close proximity to the first device and associates the second device with the first device, wherein the first device has an active voice or video call from a first party to a second party;
a drag-and-drop module that detects a drag-and-drop operation to receive transferred information from the second device, wherein the transferred information is information about a third party to be added to the active voice or video call on the first device between the first party and the second party, wherein the information about the third party is not on the first device before the information about the third party is transferred; and
a synchronization module that causes synchronization of at least a portion of a display of the first device in response to detecting the drag-and-drop operation and adds the third party to the voice or video call between the first party and second party.

16. The first device of claim 15 , further comprising a destination compatibility module that detects compatibility of the second device.

17. The first device of claim 15 , wherein the active call is the voice call.

18. The first device of claim 15 , wherein the active call is the video call.

Assignees

• Ananthakrishnan Ganesh
• Michaelis Paul Roller
• Avaya Inc

Inventors

• Ananthakrishnan Ganesh
• Michaelis Paul Roller

Classifications

• G06F3/0486 Primary

  Drag-and-drop · CPC title

• H04W76/00

  Connection management · CPC title

• H04L29/08576

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H04L29/0854

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H04L67/14

  Session management (for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066) · CPC title