U.S. patent number 10,122,955 [Application Number 15/625,505] was granted by the patent office on 2018-11-06 for interfacing a television with a second device.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Google LLC. The grantee listed for this patent is Google LLC. Invention is credited to Haywai Hayward Chan, Eric H C Liu.
United States Patent |
10,122,955 |
Liu , et al. |
November 6, 2018 |
Interfacing a television with a second device
Abstract
A system and method for interfacing a television with a second
device is provided. The system includes an interfacing unit to
enter an interfacing mode between the television mode and the
second device; a card storage unit to store a first card and a
second card, the first card being presently displayed on the
television and the second card being previously displayed on the
television; a current card display register to store the first
card; an interactive retrieval unit to retrieve a plurality of
interactive functions associated with the first card; and a display
unit to display the first card and the plurality of interactive
functions in response to being in the interfacing mode.
Inventors: |
Liu; Eric H C (Santa Clara,
CA), Chan; Haywai Hayward (Mountain View, CA) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Google LLC |
Mountain View |
CA |
US |
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Assignee: |
Google LLC (Mountain View,
CA)
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Family
ID: |
50686158 |
Appl.
No.: |
15/625,505 |
Filed: |
June 16, 2017 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20170289603 A1 |
Oct 5, 2017 |
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Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
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13842809 |
Mar 15, 2013 |
9712776 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04N
21/43615 (20130101); H04N 21/6175 (20130101); H04N
21/4122 (20130101); H04N 21/6125 (20130101); H04N
21/42204 (20130101); H04N 21/4788 (20130101); H04N
21/4126 (20130101); H04L 67/42 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G06F
15/16 (20060101); H04N 21/436 (20110101); H04N
5/44 (20110101); H04N 21/61 (20110101); H04N
21/41 (20110101); H04N 21/4788 (20110101); H04L
29/06 (20060101) |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Other References
Google, "Google Search app Google Now TV Cards", pp. 1-2, available
at: https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/3223220?hl=en, last
accessed Jul. 15, 2014. cited by applicant .
International Preliminary Report on Patentability and Written
Opinion dated Sep. 15, 2015 in International Patent Application
PCT/US2014/027302. cited by applicant .
International Search Report and Written Opinion of the
International Search Authority dated Jul. 24, 2014 in International
Patent Application No. PCT/US2014/027302. cited by applicant .
Merkel, K., "HbbTV und Second Screen", pp. 1-2, Jan. 7, 2013,
available at:
http://www.irt.de/fileadmin/media/downloads/Digitales_Fernsehen/HbbTV-
_und_Second_Screen.pdf. cited by applicant .
Notice of Allowance dated Mar. 27, 2017 in U.S. Appl. No.
13/842,809. cited by applicant .
Office Action dated Feb. 24, 2015 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/842,809.
cited by applicant .
Office Action dated May 23, 2016 in U.S. Appl. No. 13/842,809.
cited by applicant .
Office Action dated Dec. 6, 2017 in CN Application No.
201480021780.6. cited by applicant .
Office Action dated Aug. 17, 2018 in CN Patent Application No.
201480021780.6. cited by applicant .
Examination Report dated Aug. 16, 2018 in EP Patent Application No.
14722870.4. cited by applicant .
Anonymous, "HyperCard-Wikipedia", last updated Feb. 24, 2013, pp.
1-11, available at:
URL:http://www.en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=HyperCard&oldid=5401278-
45, retrieved on Aug. 8, 2018. cited by applicant.
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Primary Examiner: Patel; Dhairya A
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Byrne Poh LLP
Parent Case Text
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.
No. 13/842,809, filed Mar. 15, 2013, which is hereby incorporated
by reference herein in its entirety.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A method for interfacing devices, comprising: detecting, by a
mobile device including a hardware processor and a mobile display,
a display device that is proximal to the mobile device over a
communications network, wherein the display device is presenting
media content; causing, using the hardware processor, the mobile
device to be communicatively coupled to the display device;
receiving, using the hardware processor, at the mobile device from
a server, a first card interface that relates to the media content
currently being presented on the display device and that includes a
first set of interactive functions associated with the first card
interface; storing, using the hardware processor, the first card
interface in a local memory of the mobile device; transmitting,
using the hardware processor, the first card interface and the
associated first set of interactive functions to the display device
for presentation on the display device over the communications
network; receiving, using the hardware processor, at the mobile
device from the server, a second card interface that relates to the
media content being presented on the display device and that
includes a second set of interactive functions associated with the
second card interface; transmitting, using the hardware processor,
the second card interface and the associated second set of
interactive functions to the display device for presentation on the
display device over the communications network, wherein the first
card interface is no longer presented on the display device and the
second card interface replaces the first card interface for
presentation on the display device; receiving, using the hardware
processor, an input on the mobile display of the mobile device that
corresponds to a request to present the previously presented first
card interface and the associated first set of interactive
functions for a second time on the display device; in response to
receiving the input on the mobile display of the mobile device,
retrieving, using the hardware processor, the previously presented
first card interface from the local memory of the mobile device;
and causing, using the hardware processor, the first card interface
and the associated first set of interactive functions to be
presented for the second time on the display device.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first card interface
identifies the media content being presented on the display
device.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein retrieving the previously
presented first card interface from the local memory of the mobile
device comprises retrieving the first set of interactive functions
associated with the first card interface from the local memory of
the mobile device.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein at least one of the first set of
interactive functions is a function to share information associated
with the first card interface via a social networking service
associated with the mobile device.
5. The method of claim 3, wherein the first set of interactive
functions is identified based on content presented on the first
card interface.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the display device is detected
based on a distance between the mobile device and the display
device.
7. A system for interfacing devices, the system comprising: a
hardware processor that is programmed to: detect, by a mobile
device including a mobile display, a display device that is
proximal to the mobile device over a communications network,
wherein the display device is presenting media content; cause the
mobile device to be communicatively coupled to the display device;
receive, at the mobile device from a server, a first card interface
that relates to the media content currently being presented on the
display device and that includes a first set of interactive
functions associated with the first card interface; store the first
card interface in a local memory of the mobile device; transmit the
first card interface and the associated first set of interactive
functions to the display device for presentation on the display
device over the communications network; receive, at the mobile
device from the server, a second card interface that relates to the
media content being presented on the display device and that
includes a second set of interactive functions associated with the
second card interface; transmit the second card interface and the
associated second set of interactive functions to the display
device for presentation on the display device over the
communications network, wherein the first card interface is no
longer presented on the display device and the second card
interface replaces the first card interface for presentation on the
display device; receive an input on the mobile display of the
mobile device that corresponds to a request to present the
previously presented first card interface and the associated first
set of interactive functions for a second time on the display
device; in response to receiving the input on the mobile display of
the mobile device, retrieve the previously presented first card
interface from the local memory of the mobile device; and cause the
first card interface and the associated first set of interactive
functions to be presented for the second time on the display
device.
8. The system of claim 7, wherein the first card interface
identifies the media content being presented on the display
device.
9. The system of claim 7, wherein retrieving the previously
presented first card interface from the local memory of the mobile
device comprises retrieving the first set of interactive functions
associated with the first card interface from the local memory of
the mobile device.
10. The system of claim 9, wherein at least one of the first set of
interactive functions is a function to share information associated
with the first card interface via a social networking service
associated with the mobile device.
11. The system of claim 9, wherein the first set of interactive
function is identified based on content presented on the first card
interface.
12. The system of claim 7, wherein the display device is detected
based on a distance between the mobile device and the display
device.
13. A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing computer
executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause
the processor to execute a method for interfacing devices, the
method comprising: detecting, by a mobile device including a mobile
display, a display device that is proximal to the mobile device
over a communications network, wherein the display device is
presenting media content; causing the mobile device to be
communicatively coupled to the display device; receiving, at the
mobile device from a server, a first card interface that relates to
the media content currently being presented on the display device
and that includes a first set of interactive functions associated
with the first card interface; storing the first card interface in
a local memory of the mobile device; transmitting the first card
interface and the associated first set of interactive functions to
the display device for presentation on the display device over the
communications network; receiving, at the mobile device from the
server, a second card interface that relates to the media content
being presented on the display device and that includes a second
set of interactive functions associated with the second card
interface; transmitting the second card interface and the
associated second set of interactive functions to the display
device for presentation on the display device over the
communications network, wherein the first card interface is no
longer presented on the display device and the second card
interface replaces the first card interface for presentation on the
display device; receiving an input on the mobile display of the
mobile device that corresponds to a request to present the
previously presented first card interface for a second time on the
display device; in response to receiving the input the mobile
display of on the mobile device, retrieving the previously
presented first card interface and the associated first set of
interactive functions from the local memory of the mobile device;
and causing the first card interface and the associated first set
of interactive functions to be presented for the second time on the
display device.
14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13,
wherein the first card interface identifies the media content being
presented on the display device.
15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13,
wherein retrieving the previously presented first card interface
from the local memory of the mobile device comprises retrieving the
first set of interactive functions associated with the first card
interface from the local memory of the mobile device.
16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15,
wherein at least one of the first set of interactive functions is a
function to share information associated with the first card
interface via a social networking service associated with the
mobile device.
17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15,
wherein the first set of interactive function is identified based
on content presented on the first card interface.
18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13,
wherein the display device is detected based on a distance between
the mobile device and the display device.
Description
BACKGROUND
A television is an ideal medium to consume media. Televisions tend
to be the largest device a person may own. In addition to
television programs, the television may serve other media, such as
news, photos, Internet sourced videos and the like.
Televisions may be augmented with an Internet enabling device. The
Internet enabling device accesses various data providers to
retrieve data to be presented on the television. The various data
providers may be a news server, a photo server, or may data
providing services. The Internet enabling device may be separate
and discrete from the television, or may be integrated into a
television design.
The Internet enabling device may access a centralized server that
retrieves data from the data providers to serve to the television.
The centralized server may serve data to the television based on a
user's preferences. For example, the user may register certain
preferences, and based on the preferences registered, data from the
data providers may be retrieved to serve on the television.
Alternatively, the centralized server may access the user's
preferences automatically.
The television, through the Internet enabling device, may present
the data retrieved from the centralized server in a slideshow
fashion. For example, a user who indicates an enjoyment of nature
may be presented with various pictures of national parks.
Additionally, the slideshow may contain information associated with
nature, such as news events and other Internet related
recommendations.
The television presentation may be augmented with a content
identification (`content-id`) capability. The content-id
automatically detects the program being watched by the user. The
content-id may perform this task by performing a visual, audio or
digital detection of the program being served by the
television.
While watching television, user's also may access a portable device
on their person, such as a smart phone, a tablet or a personal
computer. The portable device is interactive in nature, and allows
the user to share and process information.
SUMMARY
A system and method for interfacing a television with a second
device is provided. The system includes an interfacing unit to
enter an interfacing mode between the television mode and the
second device; a card storage unit to store a first card and a
second card, the first card being presently displayed on the
television and the second card being previously displayed on the
television; a current card display register to store the first
card; an interactive retrieval unit to retrieve a plurality of
interactive functions associated with the first card; and a display
unit to display the first card and the plurality of interactive
functions in response to being in the interfacing mode.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The detailed description refers to the following drawings, in which
like numerals refer to like items, and in which:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example computer.
FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a system for interfacing a
television with a second device.
FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a method for interfacing a
television with a second device.
FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a method for interfacing a
television with a second device.
FIG. 5 illustrates an example implementation of the system in FIG.
2.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
While the television is an ideal device for consuming media, the
television may be limited in providing a fully interactive
experience. Televisions are often not equipped with more than a
remote control. Further, user's may not want to interrupt a
television broadcast or presentation to perform an interactive
operation.
In contrast, a second device associated with the user (or on the
user's person) may be fully interactive, or more interactive than a
television. For example, the user may maintain a portable device,
such as a smart phone or tablet, on their person. The smart phone
or tablet may be equipped to access the Internet, communicate with
other users, and perform other tasks that a television is not ideal
for performing.
A user viewing content on a television, such as a broadcast program
or a slideshow served via a centralized server, may manually enter
information about the content sourced from a television. However,
this process may be burdensome. Further, the user may not be fully
aware of the textual details (i.e. name, actors, etc.) associated
with the broadcast program, and thus may not be able to manually
interact with their phone to perform additional searching.
The systems and methods disclosed herein are directed to
interfacing television with a second device, such as a smart phone
or tablet. The systems and methods disclosed herein allow a user,
via a user device to access and interact with data sourced from a
centralized server, the data being served to a television.
Thus, because the data is served to a television is automatically
served to a portable device, the user may realize a more
convenient, enjoyable and interactive experience while consuming
media via a television.
In situations in which the systems discussed here collect personal
information about users, or may make use of personal information,
the users may be provided with an opportunity to control whether
programs or features collect user information (e.g., information
about a user's social network, social actions or activities,
profession, a user's preferences, or a user's current location), or
to control whether and/or how to receive content from the content
server that may be more relevant to the user. In addition, certain
data may be treated in one or more ways before it is stored or
used, so that PII is removed. For example, a user's identity may be
treated so that no PII can be determined for the user, or a user's
geographic location may be generalized where location information
is obtained (such as to a city, ZIP code, or state level), so that
a particular location of a user cannot be determined. Thus, the
user may have control over how information is collected about the
user and used by a content server.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example computer 100. The
computer 100 includes at least one processor 102 coupled to a
chipset 104. The chipset 104 includes a memory controller hub 120
and an input/output (I/O) controller hub 122. A memory 106 and a
graphics adapter 112 are coupled to the memory controller hub 120,
and a display 118 is coupled to the graphics adapter 112. A storage
device 108, keyboard 110, pointing device 114, and network adapter
116 are coupled to the I/O controller hub 122. Other embodiments of
the computer 100 may have different architectures.
The storage device 108 is a non-transitory computer-readable
storage medium such as a hard drive, compact disk read-only memory
(CD-ROM), DVD, or a solid-state memory device. The memory 106 holds
instructions and data used by the processor 102. The pointing
device 114 is a mouse, track ball, or other type of pointing
device, and is used in combination with the keyboard 110 to input
data into the computer system 100. The graphics adapter 112
displays images and other information on the display 118. The
network adapter 116 couples the computer system 100 to one or more
computer networks.
The computer 100 is adapted to execute computer program modules for
providing functionality described herein. As used herein, the term
"module" refers to computer program logic used to provide the
specified functionality. Thus, a module can be implemented in
hardware, firmware, and/or software. In one embodiment, program
modules are stored on the storage device 108, loaded into the
memory 106, and executed by the processor 102.
The types of computers used by the entities and processes disclosed
herein can vary depending upon the embodiment and the processing
power required by the entity. The computer 100 may be a mobile
device, tablet, smartphone or any sort of computing element with
the above-listed elements. For example, a data store, such as a
hard disk, solid state memory or storage device, might be stored in
a distributed database system comprising multiple blade servers
working together to provide the functionality described herein. The
computers can lack some of the components described above, such as
keyboards 110, graphics adapters 112, and displays 118.
FIG. 2 is an example of a system 200 for interfacing a television
203 with a second device (user device 201). The system 200 includes
an interfacing unit 210, a card storage unit 220, a current card
display register 230, an interactive retrieval unit 240, and a
display unit 250. The system 200 may be implemented on a user
device 201, such as computer 100 described in FIG. 1.
The user device 201 may communicate via a network 260, such as the
Internet, to a central server 270. The central server 270 may
communicate with the television 203 via the network 260 and an
Internet enabling device 202. The Internet enabling device 202 may
retrieve data from the central server 270, and direct the
television to present the data.
Alternatively, the Internet enabling device 202 may be equipped
with content-id, thereby allowing the Internet enabling device 202
to communicate with the central server 270 a detection of the
content being served by the television 203.
The interfacing unit 210 receives activation by the user device 201
to allow system 200 to interface with the television 203. The
activation may be triggered by a user activating a button or icon
associated with system 200. Alternatively, the activation may be
automatic based on a detection of the user device 201 being within
the presence of the television 203.
Once the interfacing unit 210 is activated, the system 200 may
receive cards associated with the content being display via
television 203. The cards may correspond to data served to the
television 203 from the central server 270. As shown in FIG. 2,
card 271 is being presented via television 203.
The cards may refer to any sort of data associated with a
presentation via television 200. Thus, if television 203 accesses a
slideshow of content via the central server 270, the cards may
represent the various discrete data items associated with the
slideshow. Thus, each card may represent a picture, news item, or
other content served via the television 203.
Alternatively, the card may be sourced from the television 203. If
the system 203 is in content-id mode, a content-id card may be
delivered to the central server 270, and then delivered to the user
device 201. The content-id card indicates a detection of a current
program being broadcast or served by the television 203.
The card storage unit 220 stores a history of the cards served to
the television 203. The system 200 receives the cards, such as card
271 and card 272, and stores the cards in a persistent store 205.
The persistent store 205 may be any of the storage devices
enumerated above in regards to storage device 108.
By maintaining a history of all or some of the cards associated
with television 203, the system 200 presents an option of accessing
cards previously served via television 203. For example, card 271
is presently being served in the example shown FIG. 2, with card
272 being previously served. By storing a history of the cards
served, system 200 allows the user device 201 to scroll through the
cards that were previously served.
The current card display register 230 stores, via a register or
storage device, a record of the current card being displayed via
television 203. In the example shown in FIG. 2, card 271 is
currently being displayed, and thus, card 271 is stored in the
current card display register 230. Once a new card replaces card
271 on television 203, the current card display register 230
updates accordingly.
The interactive retrieval unit 240 retrieves interactive data
associated with the card being accessed. The interactive retrieval
unit 240 may store correlations with each card in the interactive
database 206. Thus, when a card, such as card 271, is being served
via the television 203, the interactive database 206 also may store
functionality associated with the card.
For example, different cards may have different functionality
associations. A card is directed to a slideshow picture may have a
zoom function, a share function, a posting function (via an online
social network), and the like.
Conversely, if the card is directed to a content-id item, the card
may be associated with a program identification function, an actor
database function, an ecommerce link to purchase additional content
associated with the content-id, and the like.
The functions are not limited to the ones enumerated above, and may
be configured and implemented based on an implementer of system
200's preference.
The display unit 250 displays either the present card 271, or if
the user device 201 performs a scrolling operation, displays a
previous card, such as card 272. The display unit 250 displays the
buttons or augmented data based on the interactive function
associated with the displayed card.
FIG. 3 is an example method 300 for interfacing a television with a
second device. The method may be implemented on the system 200.
In operation 310, an interfacing mode is selected to enter into.
The mode may be entered into manually by a user option, or
automatically by the second device being in a proximal distance
from the television. The second device and the television (via an
internet enabling device), may receive data and communicate via a
central server.
In operation 320, a card is transmitted to the television to
display. The same card may also be transmitted to the second
device. Thus, in operation 320, the second device receives a card
associated with the current display of the television.
In operation 330, if the method 300 was already in the interfacing
mode, and a card was already received, the old card is stored. In
operation 340, interactive data is retrieved associated with the
card. The interactive data retrieved may be contingent on the
object the card is associated with.
In operation 350, the second device displays the card and displays
the interactive functions associated with the card. Thus, a user of
the second device may operate any of the interactive functions to
augment or enhance an experience associated with viewing the card
on the television.
In operation 360, the second device is presented an option of
maintaining the display of the presently viewed card, or access a
previously stored card. If the user, decides to access previous
cards, the user of the second device may scroll or swipe through a
collection of the previous cards. The interactive data associated
with the previous cards is also stored, so when a user selects one
of the previous cards to access, the user will also be presented
the interactive data associated with the previously stored
card.
If a new card is displayed on the television, the method 300
returns to operation 330.
FIG. 4 is an example method 400 for interfacing a television with a
second device. The method may be implemented on the system 200.
Operation 410 is substantially similar to operation 310, and thus,
a description will be omitted.
In operation 420, a content-id detection is performed on the
content being served via the television. In operation 430, a card
associated with the content-id is received by the second device.
The card may contain identifying information about the program or
broadcast being served by the television.
In operation 440, interactive data associated with the content-id
card is retrieved. For example, the interactive data may be a link
to access more information about the program, a link to access
information about the actors in the program, or the like
FIG. 5 illustrates an example implementation of system 200. FIG. 5
includes user device 201, Internet enabling device 202, television
203, and system 200.
In FIG. 5, the television 203 is set to a slideshow mode. Currently
shown on the television 203 is one of the photos 510 associated
with the slideshow, a picture of a mountain. Simultaneously, based
on a transmission from a central server, the user device 201 shows
the same picture of the photo 510. As shown, the user device's
presentation of flower 510 is augmented by several functions, such
as a `share with friend` button 511 and a `post on a social
network` button 512.
Thus, according to the aspects disclosed herein, a user associated
with a device on their person while viewing television is presented
an interactive experience, while potentially maximizing their
enjoyment by having content delivered via a television.
Certain of the devices shown in FIG. 1 include a computing system.
The computing system includes a processor (CPU) and a system bus
that couples various system components including a system memory
such as read only memory (ROM) and random access memory (RAM), to
the processor. Other system memory may be available for use as
well. The computing system may include more than one processor or a
group or cluster of computing system networked together to provide
greater processing capability. The system bus may be any of several
types of bus structures including a memory bus or memory
controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a
variety of bus architectures. A basic input/output (BIOS) stored in
the ROM or the like, may provide basic routines that help to
transfer information between elements within the computing system,
such as during start-up. The computing system further includes data
stores, which maintain a database according to known database
management systems. The data stores may be embodied in many forms,
such as a hard disk drive, a magnetic disk drive, an optical disk
drive, tape drive, or another type of computer readable media which
can store data that are accessible by the processor, such as
magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, digital versatile disks,
cartridges, random access memories (RAMs) and, read only memory
(ROM). The data stores may be connected to the system bus by a
drive interface. The data stores provide nonvolatile storage of
computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules
and other data for the computing system.
To enable human (and in some instances, machine) user interaction,
the computing system may include an input device, such as a
microphone for speech and audio, a touch sensitive screen for
gesture or graphical input, keyboard, mouse, motion input, and so
forth. An output device can include one or more of a number of
output mechanisms. In some instances, multimodal systems enable a
user to provide multiple types of input to communicate with the
computing system. A communications interface generally enables the
computing device system to communicate with one or more other
computing devices using various communication and network
protocols.
The preceding disclosure refers to a number of flow charts and
accompanying descriptions to illustrate the embodiments represented
in FIGS. 3 and 4. The disclosed devices, components, and systems
contemplate using or implementing any suitable technique for
performing the steps illustrated in these figures. Thus, FIGS. 3
and 4 are for illustration purposes only and the described or
similar steps may be performed at any appropriate time, including
concurrently, individually, or in combination. In addition, many of
the steps in these flow charts may take place simultaneously and/or
in different orders than as shown and described. Moreover, the
disclosed systems may use processes and methods with additional,
fewer, and/or different steps.
Embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in digital
electronic circuitry, or in computer software, firmware, or
hardware, including the herein disclosed structures and their
equivalents. Some embodiments can be implemented as one or more
computer programs, i.e., one or more modules of computer program
instructions, encoded on a tangible computer storage medium for
execution by one or more processors. A computer storage medium can
be, or can be included in, a computer-readable storage device, a
computer-readable storage substrate, or a random or serial access
memory. The computer storage medium can also be, or can be included
in, one or more separate tangible components or media such as
multiple CDs, disks, or other storage devices. The computer storage
medium does not include a transitory signal.
As used herein, the term processor encompasses all kinds of
apparatus, devices, and machines for processing data, including by
way of example a programmable processor, a computer, a system on a
chip, or multiple ones, or combinations, of the foregoing. The
processor can include special purpose logic circuitry, e.g., an
FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC
(application-specific integrated circuit). The processor also can
include, in addition to hardware, code that creates an execution
environment for the computer program in question, e.g., code that
constitutes processor firmware, a protocol stack, a database
management system, an operating system, a cross-platform runtime
environment, a virtual machine, or a combination of one or more of
them.
A computer program (also known as a program, module, engine,
software, software application, script, or code) can be written in
any form of programming language, including compiled or interpreted
languages, declarative or procedural languages, and the program can
be deployed in any form, including as a stand-alone program or as a
module, component, subroutine, object, or other unit suitable for
use in a computing environment. A computer program may, but need
not, correspond to a file in a file system. A program can be stored
in a portion of a file that holds other programs or data (e.g., one
or more scripts stored in a markup language document), in a single
file dedicated to the program in question, or in multiple
coordinated files (e.g., files that store one or more modules,
sub-programs, or portions of code). A computer program can be
deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiple computers
that are located at one site or distributed across multiple sites
and interconnected by a communication network.
To provide for interaction with an individual, the herein disclosed
embodiments can be implemented using an interactive display, such
as a graphical user interface (GUI). Such GUI's may include
interactive features such as pop-up or pull-down menus or lists,
selection tabs, scannable features, and other features that can
receive human inputs.
The computing system disclosed herein can include clients and
servers. A client and server are generally remote from each other
and typically interact through a communications network. The
relationship of client and server arises by virtue of computer
programs running on the respective computers and having a
client-server relationship to each other. In some embodiments, a
server transmits data (e.g., an HTML page) to a client device
(e.g., for purposes of displaying data to and receiving user input
from a user interacting with the client device). Data generated at
the client device (e.g., a result of the user interaction) can be
received from the client device at the server.
* * * * *
References