U.S. patent application number 13/361277 was filed with the patent office on 2013-08-01 for automatic configuration of self-configurable environments.
This patent application is currently assigned to Apple Inc.. The applicant listed for this patent is Thomas Ethan Lowry. Invention is credited to Thomas Ethan Lowry.
Application Number | 20130197674 13/361277 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 48870938 |
Filed Date | 2013-08-01 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130197674 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lowry; Thomas Ethan |
August 1, 2013 |
AUTOMATIC CONFIGURATION OF SELF-CONFIGURABLE ENVIRONMENTS
Abstract
A user's portable electronic device can learn configuration
preferences from a first environment, such as the user's car, and
when the user visits another similar environment, such as a rented
automobile, those configuration preferences can be imported into
the visited environment and used to automatically configure the
environment according to the imported preferences.
Inventors: |
Lowry; Thomas Ethan; (Santa
Clara, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Lowry; Thomas Ethan |
Santa Clara |
CA |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Apple Inc.
Cupertino
CA
|
Family ID: |
48870938 |
Appl. No.: |
13/361277 |
Filed: |
January 30, 2012 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
700/19 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60R 16/02 20130101;
B60R 25/30 20130101; B60W 2050/0082 20130101; B60W 2050/0075
20130101; B60W 2050/0083 20130101; B60W 2050/0089 20130101; B60W
50/08 20130101; B60W 2050/0002 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
700/19 |
International
Class: |
G05B 15/02 20060101
G05B015/02 |
Claims
1. A system comprising: a configurable component of a configurable
environment; a configuration module of the configurable
environment, the configuration module of the configurable
environment being configured to receive a configuration variable,
and instruct the configurable component of the configurable
environment to configure itself according to the configuration
variable; and a configuration application of a portable consumer
electronic device, the configuration application being configured
to send a configuration variable to the configuration module of the
configurable environment to initiate configuration of the
configurable environment.
2. The system of claim 1 further comprising: an
environment-translation module configured to translate a standard
configuration variable into a configuration variable specific to
the configurable environment.
3. The system of claim 1 further comprising: an
environment-translation module configured to translate a
configuration variable specific to the configurable environment
into a standard configuration variable.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the configuration application
includes a database configured to store the configuration
variable.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein the configuration application
includes an environment translation module configured to translate
the configuration variable between a variable specific to the
configurable environment and a standard variable that is not
specific to any configurable environment.
6. A method executed on a portable electronic device comprising:
storing a configuration variable on the portable electronic device;
sending the configuration variable to a configurable environment;
and instructing the configurable environment to configure itself
according to the configuration variable.
7. The method of claim 6 further comprising: receiving by a
configuration application running on the portable electronic device
an identification of the configurable environment.
8. The method of claim 7 further comprising: translating the
configuration variable into a device specific configuration
variable associated with the identified configurable
environment.
9. The method of claim 6 further comprising: receiving the
configuration variable from a first configurable environment before
storing the configuration variable on the portable electronic
device.
10. The method of claim 7, wherein a subset of a plurality of
configuration variables do not require translation.
11. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing
computer-readable instructions thereon, effective for causing a
computer to execute the computer-readable instructions comprising:
receiving a configuration variable from a first configurable
environment; storing the configuration variable in a portable
electronic device; sending the configuration variable to a second
configurable environment; and instructing the second configurable
environment to configure itself according to the configuration
variable.
12. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11 further
comprising: receiving by a configuration application running on the
portable electronic device an identification of the second
configurable environment.
13. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12 further
comprising: translating the configuration variable into a
environment specific configuration variable associated with the
identified second configurable environment.
14. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12,
wherein a subset of a plurality of configuration variables do not
require translation.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to
self-configurable environments and more specifically to techniques
and systems for storing configuration details on a portable
consumer device and communicating those configuration details to a
self configurable environment to enable the self configurable
environment to configure itself.
BACKGROUND
[0002] An example of a self-configurable environment that some
consumers might be familiar with is an automobile in which a
consumer can adjust a car seat, power mirrors, and steering wheel,
and associate the configuration with a button. In such automobiles
two different drivers can each associate a particular configuration
of the seat, mirrors, and steering wheel with one of the buttons
and when they enter the car, they can press the button and the car
will reconfigure itself according to the associated
configuration.
[0003] Such self-configurable environments are very convenient;
however, they are not readily transportable. Accordingly, the
present technology solves this problem.
SUMMARY
[0004] Additional features and advantages of the disclosure will be
set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be
obvious from the description, or can be learned by practice of the
herein disclosed principles. The features and advantages of the
disclosure can be realized and obtained by means of the instruments
and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
These and other features of the disclosure will become more fully
apparent from the following description and appended claims, or can
be learned by the practice of the principles set forth herein.
[0005] The present technology makes it possible for users of
portable consumer electronic devices to bring environment
configuration information with them and communicate the environment
configuration to visited environments so that the visited
environment can automatically configure itself to the user's
preferences.
[0006] An example of such a configurable environment could be an
automobile. A user could allow their phone to learn configuration
preferences from the user's personal automobile, and when the user
visits another automobile, such as when renting a car, or buying a
new car, those configuration preferences could be imported into the
visited automobile and used to automatically configure the
automobile according to the imported preferences. Such preferences
could include seat orientation, radio preferences (especially
satellite radio), climate control preferences, and minor
orientation preferences.
[0007] In some embodiments, an application running on a portable
electronic device can include a user interface sufficient to
receive an instruction from the user to request configuration
information from a home environment. As not all similar
environments (i.e., one car to another) share the same dimensions
or default configurations, the application can include a
translation function, by which it could standardize received
information, and translate the information according to the
appropriate environment when transmitting the configuration
information.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] In order to describe the manner in which the above-recited
and other advantages and features of the disclosure can be
obtained, a more particular description of the principles briefly
described above will be rendered by reference to specific
embodiments thereof which are illustrated in the appended drawings.
Understanding that these drawings depict only exemplary embodiments
of the disclosure and are not therefore to be considered to be
limiting of its scope, the principles herein are described and
explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of
the accompanying drawings in which:
[0009] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system embodiment;
[0010] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary application of the present
technology;
[0011] FIG. 3 illustrates distances and angles that can be measured
to represent the physical configuration of a passenger compartment
of an exemplary configurable environment;
[0012] FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary rear view of an exemplary
configurable environment;
[0013] FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary system embodiment;
[0014] FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary system embodiment; and
[0015] FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary method embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0016] Various embodiments of the disclosure are discussed in
detail below. While specific implementations are discussed, it
should be understood that this is done for illustration purposes
only. A person skilled in the relevant art will recognize that
other components and configurations may be used without parting
from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.
[0017] The present disclosure describes a technology in which a
collection of configuration settings can be stored in a portable
consumer device. When the portable consumer device is in a
configurable environment, the portable consumer device can
communicate the stored collection of configuration settings to the
configurable environment, which can then configure itself according
to those configuration settings. An example in which this
technology might be relevant is if a consumer configures an
automobile to his preferences. If those preferences are stored in
the consumer's portable consumer device, then when the consumer
enters another car, such as a rental car, configured with the
present technology, that car can configure itself to the consumer's
preferences.
[0018] A brief introductory description of a basic general purpose
system or computing device, which can be employed to practice these
concepts is illustrated in FIG. 1. A more detailed description of
the present technology will follow. Several variations shall be
discussed herein as the various embodiments are set forth. The
disclosure now turns to FIG. 1.
[0019] With reference to FIG. 1, an exemplary system 100 includes a
general-purpose computing device 100, including a processing unit
(CPU or processor) 120 and a system bus 110 that couples various
system components including the system memory 130 such as read only
memory (ROM) 140 and random access memory (RAM) 150 to the
processor 120. The system 100 can include a cache 122 of high speed
memory connected directly with, in close proximity to, or
integrated as part of the processor 120. The system 100 copies data
from the memory 130 and/or the storage device 160 to the cache 122
for quick access by the processor 120. In this way, the cache
provides a performance boost that avoids processor 120 delays while
waiting for data. These and other modules can control or be
configured to control the processor 120 to perform various actions.
Other system memory 130 may be available for use as well. The
memory 130 can include multiple different types of memory with
different performance characteristics. It can be appreciated that
the disclosure may operate on a computing device 100 with more than
one processor 120 or on a group or cluster of computing devices
networked together to provide greater processing capability. The
processor 120 can include any general purpose processor and a
hardware module or software module, such as module 1 162, module 2
164, and module 3 166 stored in storage device 160, configured to
control the processor 120 as well as a special-purpose processor
where software instructions are incorporated into the actual
processor design. The processor 120 may essentially be a completely
self-contained computing system, containing multiple cores or
processors, a bus, memory controller, cache, etc. A multi-core
processor may be symmetric or asymmetric.
[0020] The system bus 110 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 ROM 140 or the
like, may provide the basic routine that helps to transfer
information between elements within the computing device 100, such
as during start-up. The computing device 100 further includes
storage devices 160 such as a hard disk drive, a magnetic disk
drive, an optical disk drive, tape drive or the like. The storage
device 160 can include software modules 162, 164, 166 for
controlling the processor 120. Other hardware or software modules
are contemplated. The storage device 160 is connected to the system
bus 110 by a drive interface. The drives and the associated
computer readable storage media provide nonvolatile storage of
computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules
and other data for the computing device 100. In one aspect, a
hardware module that performs a particular function includes the
software component stored in a non-transitory computer-readable
medium in connection with the necessary hardware components, such
as the processor 120, bus 110, display 170, and so forth, to carry
out the function. The basic components are known to those of skill
in the art and appropriate variations are contemplated depending on
the type of device, such as whether the device 100 is a small,
handheld computing device, a desktop computer, or a computer
server.
[0021] Although the exemplary embodiment described herein employs
the hard disk 160, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the
art that other types of computer readable media which can store
data that are accessible by a computer, such as magnetic cassettes,
flash memory cards, digital versatile disks, cartridges, random
access memories (RAMs) 150, read only memory (ROM) 140, a cable or
wireless signal containing a bit stream and the like, may also be
used in the exemplary operating environment. Non-transitory
computer-readable storage media expressly exclude media such as
energy, carrier signals, electromagnetic waves, and signals per
se.
[0022] To enable user interaction with the computing device 100, an
input device 190 represents any number of input mechanisms, such as
a microphone for speech, a touch-sensitive screen for gesture or
graphical input, keyboard, mouse, motion input, speech and so
forth. An output device 170 can also be one or more of a number of
output mechanisms known to those of skill in the art. In some
instances, multimodal systems enable a user to provide multiple
types of input to communicate with the computing device 100. The
communications interface 180 generally governs and manages the user
input and system output. There is no restriction on operating on
any particular hardware arrangement and therefore the basic
features here may easily be substituted for improved hardware or
firmware arrangements as they are developed.
[0023] For clarity of explanation, the illustrative system
embodiment is presented as including individual functional blocks
including functional blocks labeled as a "processor" or processor
120. The functions these blocks represent may be provided through
the use of either shared or dedicated hardware, including, but not
limited to, hardware capable of executing software and hardware,
such as a processor 120, that is purpose-built to operate as an
equivalent to software executing on a general purpose processor.
For example the functions of one or more processors presented in
FIG. 1 may be provided by a single shared processor or multiple
processors. (Use of the term "processor" should not be construed to
refer exclusively to hardware capable of executing software.)
Illustrative embodiments may include microprocessor and/or digital
signal processor (DSP) hardware, read-only memory (ROM) 140 for
storing software performing the operations discussed below, and
random access memory (RAM) 150 for storing results. Very large
scale integration (VLSI) hardware embodiments, as well as custom
VLSI circuitry in combination with a general purpose DSP circuit,
may also be provided.
[0024] The logical operations of the various embodiments are
implemented as: (1) a sequence of computer implemented steps,
operations, or procedures running on a programmable circuit within
a general use computer, (2) a sequence of computer implemented
steps, operations, or procedures running on a specific-use
programmable circuit; and/or (3) interconnected machine modules or
program engines within the programmable circuits. The system 100
shown in FIG. 1 can practice all or part of the recited methods,
can be a part of the recited systems, and/or can operate according
to instructions in the recited non-transitory computer-readable
storage media. Such logical operations can be implemented as
modules configured to control the processor 120 to perform
particular functions according to the programming of the module.
For example, FIG. 1 illustrates three modules Mod1 162, Mod2 164
and Mod3 166 which are modules configured to control the processor
120. These modules may be stored on the storage device 160 and
loaded into RAM 150 or memory 130 at runtime or may be stored as
would be known in the art in other computer-readable memory
locations.
[0025] Having disclosed some components of a computing system, the
disclosure now returns to a discussion of the present technology
for the automatic configuration of self-configurable
environments.
[0026] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary application of the present
technology. Specifically, FIG. 2 illustrates a side view of a
passenger compartment 200 of an automobile. As illustrated, the
passenger compartment 200 includes an adjustable steering wheel
201, and adjustable seat 203. By way of non-limiting example, the
seat 203 is adjustable up and down 202, backward and forward 204,
and increasing and decreasing an angle of recline 206. The steering
wheel 201 is adjustable to move closer to and farther from 208 a
driver. While not shown, other aspects of the passenger experience
can also be adjustable, such as mirrors, lumbar support, air
conditioning temperature, radio preferences, etc.
[0027] Based on the configuration of the adjustable components
discussed above, FIG. 3 illustrates distances and angles that can
be measured to represent the physical configuration of the
passenger compartment. These distances and angles can be determined
by environment-translation software that would be aware of the
dimensions of the passenger compartment, and that would use these
dimensions along with information regarding the adjustments made to
the passenger compartment. In some embodiments, this
environment-translation software could be part of the automobile,
and such software would report standard statistics to a portable
consumer device (i.e., the measurements illustrated in FIG. 3).
While in some embodiments the environment-translation software
would be resident on a portable consumer device and the automobile
would report the adjustments made to the passenger compartment, and
the portable consumer device could translate these measurements
from one automobile to another.
[0028] The distances and angles illustrated in FIG. 3 can be
considered standard measurements that can be translated to any
other automobile environment. In some embodiments the distances are
determined by utilizing a value known to the
environment-translation software discussed above.
[0029] Distance 302 represents the distance from the floor board to
the passenger's knee. Distance 302 can be determined by the
environment-translation software when the software is aware that
the top of the driver's seat is by default 12 inches above the
floor board, and the passenger has adjusted the seat upwards one
inch. Thus the environment-translation software would learn from
the automobile that the distance 302 is 13 inches.
[0030] Also relevant to the orientation of the driver's knees is
the their angle of bend 304. Angle 304 can be determined by the
environment-translation software when the software is aware of the
default incline of the seat, and the default distance from the edge
of the driver's seat (just below the knees) to the operational
pedals (gas, brake, etc.). The software can also learn of any
adjustment to the angle of the seat, or distance to the operational
pedals. Based on this information the software can calculate the
angle of knee bend, or look up the approximate angle in a chart as
is well-known in the geometry arts.
[0031] Angle 306 represents the angle of a driver's recline. The
default angle of the bottom portion of the chair relative to the
backrest portion of the chair can be known by the
environment-translation software, and any adjustments from the
default can be accounted to result at Angle 306.
[0032] Distance 308 represents the distance from the driver's
shoulders to the steering wheel. This distance can be determined by
the environment-translation software when the software is aware
that the driver's seat is by default 16 inches from the steering
wheel, and can further account for changes in the seat's relative
position (forward or backward adjustments), angle of incline in the
seat (the greater the adjustment to the backrest portion of the
driver's seat that results in a more reclined driving position, the
farther the driver's shoulders will be from the steering wheel),
and adjustments to the telescoping steering wheel (forward or
backward adjustments).
[0033] In some embodiments an infrared camera and skeletal tracking
software can be used to determine the positions of the various body
regions discussed above.
[0034] FIG. 3 also illustrates mirror adjustment angles 310 and
312. In some embodiments, these angles can be reported directly
from the mirrors themselves, if they are power mirrors or can
otherwise sense adjustments. In embodiments wherein the mirror is
not a power minor or lacks the necessary sensors, these angles can
be calculated by approximating where a user's head is expected to
be based on its expected position relative to the known position of
the headrest. Again the environment-translation software can be
aware of the default position of the headrest and adjust for
movement of the seat. In some embodiments, it might be possible for
the software to learn of adjustments to the headrest itself. In
some embodiments, a camera, such as an infrared camera can be used
to actually determine the location of the driver's head itself.
Once the location of the driver's head is known or approximated,
the environment-translation software can calculated the angle of
adjustment from the known mirror location and a predetermined
target vantage point.
[0035] FIG. 4 illustrates a view from the rear of an automobile,
which shows the back of a driver's head and its relationship to the
rear view minor 402, driver's side mirror 404, and passenger's side
mirror 406.
[0036] Mirrors need to be adjusted left and right as well as up and
down. In some embodiments the mirrors can provide all of the
relevant angles to the environment-translation software as
introduced above. In some embodiments, the location of a driver's
head can be approximated, or learned (as addressed above) and an
angle of adjustment can be calculated based on the known mirror
locations, the location of the driver's head, and a predetermined
target vantage point.
[0037] By determining the standard measurements and angles
corresponding to a user's configuration preference for one
automobile, the environment-translation software can translate
those measurements to other automobiles including automobiles of
different makes and models. As long as the software has knowledge
of the default configuration of an automobile, the standard
measurements can be converted and applied to another
automobile.
[0038] Likewise the environment-translation software can also learn
of other preferences that can be exported from one automobile to
another including climate control preferences, radio preferences,
etc.
[0039] FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary system embodiment showing
two automobiles, Automobile 1 502 and Automobile 2 552, and a
portable electronic device 520. Consistent with the descriptions
herein, portable electronic device 520 can be used to learn
configuration settings applied to one automobile, such as
Automobile 1 502, and can use those configuration settings to allow
another automobile, such as Automobile 2 552, to configure itself
according to those configuration settings.
[0040] In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5 each automobile 502
and 552 includes environment-translation software 504 554. The
environment-translation software 504 554 can be configured to
communicate with the various configurable components including but
not limited to power mirrors 510 560, power seats 512 562, radio
514 564, climate control 516 566 to learn the configuration
settings of the configurable components.
[0041] As may be appreciated the configuration settings of the
various components can be relevant to the specific make and model
of the automobile from which they were measured or otherwise
collected. In such embodiments, the environment-translation
software 504 can translate the automobile specific configuration
settings into standard measurements. These standard measurements
can be communicated using the communication module 506 556 to the
portable electronic device 520 though communication module 524 for
storage within an environmental settings database 526. In some
embodiments the environmental settings database 526 can be part of
an environment-configuration application 522.
[0042] Once the standard configurations are stored in the
environmental settings database 526, a user can take the portable
electronic device into any other car configured with the present
technology, and transmit the configuration settings into the other
car, which can automatically configure itself according to the
settings. For example, using the environment-configuration
application 522 a user can command the device to initiate a
connection with the automobile via its communication module 524,
and transmit the standard measurements to the automobile 502 552
via its communication module 506 556. The communication module 506
556 can pass the settings onto the environment-translation software
504 554 which can convert the standard configuration settings into
configuration settings specific for the automobile 502 552. The
environment-translation software 504 554 is further configured to
instruct one or more components to configure themselves according
to measurements provided by the environment-translation software
504 554.
[0043] FIG. 6 illustrates another exemplary system embodiment,
which is somewhat similar to the system embodiment of FIG. 5. The
main difference between the two systems it that the
environment-translation software 624 is part of the
environment-configuration application 622 on the portable
electronic device 620. In this embodiment the automobiles 602 652
still include software 604 654 to collect measurements and data
from power mirrors 610 660, power seats 612 662, radio 614 664,
climate control 616 666, etc. However, the automobile 602 652 does
not perform a translation of the collected data and measurements
into standard data; that function is performed on the portable
electronic device 620.
[0044] When a user enters another automobile and would like that
automobile to configure itself according to the user's preferences,
the environment-configuration application 622 utilizes the
environment-translation software 624 to convert the standardized
measurements into measurements that correspond to the automobile to
be configured.
[0045] In some embodiments wherein the environment-translation
software 624 is on the portable electronic device 620 it will be
appreciated that the software will need to include information on
each car it may be used to configure or receive configurations
from. In some embodiments, the software 624 will include a database
of such information. In some embodiments, the software 624 can
download configuration settings as required.
[0046] In order for the software 624 to know which automobile to
translate a measure to or from, it can learn of the make and model
of the automobile. This can be accomplished from a menu in a user
interface, or the environment-configuration application 622 can be
configured to automatically learn the make and model information
from the automobile directly.
[0047] While up to this point the present technology has largely
been described in the context of automobiles, it should be
appreciated that the present technology is equally applicable to
many other environments. For example a hotel room might be another
example wherein the present technology could be used to configure
climate control settings, and television and lighting preferences.
Further, it should be appreciate that in some environments
translation of measurements or data might not be needed.
[0048] FIG. 7 illustrates a flow chart presenting an exemplary
method embodiment. A user can use an application on a portable
electronic device to request environment settings 702 from a
selected environment, Environment 1. Environment 1 can determine
the requested environmental settings 704, and if needed the
settings can be normalized into standard measurements 706 either on
the portable electronic device or by Environment 1. The standard
measurements can be stored on the portable electronic device 708.
Later, when the user enters a new but similar environment,
Environment 2, the user can direct the portable electronic device
to inform Environment 2 that it should configure itself. Again the
standardized measurements can be converted 710 into Environment 2
settings either by the portable device or Environment 2, and
Environment 2 can implement the settings 712.
[0049] As addressed above, in some embodiments it is necessary to
convert measurements taken from one environment into measurements
suitable for another similar environment. While such conversion can
be performed as discussed above, it can be anticipated that in some
embodiments the conversions require a slight adjustment. In such
embodiments the technology discussed herein can update its data
with the adjustments the user makes in a different environment.
Each environment can be thought of as a different context to
evaluate the user's preferences.
[0050] In some embodiments the application on the portable
electronic device can report that such modifications were made to a
central repository. If many users are making similar adjustments in
similar environments it could be an indication that the
environment-translation software might require updating or
refinement based on aggregated user data.
[0051] Embodiments within the scope of the present disclosure may
also include tangible and/or non-transitory computer-readable
storage media for carrying or having computer-executable
instructions or data structures stored thereon. Such non-transitory
computer-readable storage media can be any available media that can
be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer,
including the functional design of any special purpose processor as
discussed above. By way of example, and not limitation, such
non-transitory computer-readable media can include RAM, ROM,
EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage
or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be
used to carry or store desired program code means in the form of
computer-executable instructions, data structures, or processor
chip design. When information is transferred or provided over a
network or another communications connection (either hardwired,
wireless, or combination thereof) to a computer, the computer
properly views the connection as a computer-readable medium. Thus,
any such connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium.
Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope
of the computer-readable media.
[0052] Computer-executable instructions include, for example,
instructions and data which cause a general purpose computer,
special purpose computer, or special purpose processing device to
perform a certain function or group of functions.
Computer-executable instructions also include program modules that
are executed by computers in stand-alone or network environments.
Generally, program modules include routines, programs, components,
data structures, objects, and the functions inherent in the design
of special-purpose processors, etc. that perform particular tasks
or implement particular abstract data types. Computer-executable
instructions, associated data structures, and program modules
represent examples of the program code means for executing steps of
the methods disclosed herein. The particular sequence of such
executable instructions or associated data structures represents
examples of corresponding acts for implementing the functions
described in such steps.
[0053] Those of skill in the art will appreciate that other
embodiments of the disclosure may be practiced in network computing
environments with many types of computer system configurations,
including personal computers, hand-held devices, multi-processor
systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics,
network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like.
Embodiments may also be practiced in distributed computing
environments where tasks are performed by local and remote
processing devices that are linked (either by hardwired links,
wireless links, or by a combination thereof) through a
communications network. In a distributed computing environment,
program modules may be located in both local and remote memory
storage devices.
[0054] The various embodiments described above are provided by way
of illustration only and should not be construed to limit the scope
of the disclosure. For example, the principles herein can be
applied other types of files to control the secure deletion of
those files and other copies of those files from storage. Those
skilled in the art will readily recognize various modifications and
changes that may be made to the principles described herein without
following the example embodiments and applications illustrated and
described herein, and without departing from the spirit and scope
of the disclosure.
* * * * *