Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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VIRTUAL OFFICE
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a method and system for providing
a virtual
office.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
[0002] Office workers are required to use many different programs on
computers and
items of office equipment to perform their office functions. Office workers
often require
significant training on how to use items of office equipment and the array of
programs that
they are required to use.
[0003] There is thus a need to simplify the way office workers can
perform their
office functions.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] One aspect provides a method of providing a virtual office, the
method
comprising generating an output for display of a virtual office including a
plurality of images
of items of office equipment arranged in the virtual office, each item of
office equipment
having stored image data for use in the generation of the image in the virtual
office and code
to perform an associated office function; receiving a user input to select an
image of an item
of office equipment and to identify an operation to be performed by the office
equipment;
performing the identified operation; and modifying the generated output for
display to display
an image of the selected item of office equipment performing the selected
function.
[0005] Another aspect of the invention provides a system to provide a
virtual office
comprising at least one processor; and a memory storing instructions, which
instructions
being executable by the at least one processor to generate an output for
display of a virtual
office including a plurality of images of items of office equipment arranged
in the virtual
office, each item of office equipment having stored image data for use in the
generation of
the image in the virtual office and code to perform an associated office
function; receive a
user input to select an image of an item of office equipment and to identify
an operation to be
performed by the office equipment; perform the identified operation; and
modify the
generated output for display to display an image of the selected item of
office equipment
performing the selected function.
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[0006] Another aspect of the invention provides a carrier medium or a
storage
medium carrying code executable by a processor to carry out the deferred
search method.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a generalized system
according to
one embodiment;
[0008] Figure 2 is a flow diagram of a method of providing a virtual
office using the
system of figure 1 according to one embodiment;
[0009] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an office system
according to one
embodiment;
[0010] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a networked system
according to
one embodiment;
[0011] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a display of a
virtual office output
from the system according to one embodiment;
[0012] Figures 6A and 6B are schematic diagrams illustrating a display of
a virtual
office output from the system during file selection according to one
embodiment;
[0013] Figures 7A and 7B are schematic diagrams illustrating a display of
a virtual
office output from the system during document selection according to one
embodiment;
[0014] Figures 8A and 8B are schematic diagrams illustrating a display of
a virtual
office output from the system during page turning of a document according to
one
embodiment;
[0015] Figures 9A and 9B are schematic diagrams illustrating a display of
a virtual
office output from the system during writing of a document according to one
embodiment;
[0016] Figure 10 is a diagram illustrating a display sequence output from
the system
during document posting according to one embodiment;
[0017] Figures 11A and 11B are schematic diagrams illustrating a display
of a virtual
office output from the system during document writing according to one
embodiment;
[0018] Figures 12A and 12B are schematic diagrams illustrating a display
of a virtual
office output from the system during mail reading according to one embodiment;
[0019] Figures 13A and 13B are schematic diagrams illustrating a display
of a virtual
office output from the system during social network entry according to one
embodiment;
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[0020] Figure 14 is a schematic diagram illustrating display in a section
of a virtual
office output from the system during document filing and searching according
to one
embodiment; and
[0021] Figure 15 is a schematic diagram of a basic computing device for
use in one
embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0022] In the following detailed description, reference is made to the
accompanying
drawings that form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration
specific
embodiments in which the inventive subject matter may be practiced. These
embodiments
are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to
practice them, and it is to
be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural,
logical, and
electrical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the
inventive subject
matter. Such embodiments of the inventive subject matter may be referred to,
individually
and/or collectively, herein by the term "invention" merely for convenience and
without
intending to voluntarily limit the scope of this application to any single
invention or inventive
concept if more than one is in fact disclosed.
[0023] The following description is, therefore, not to be taken in a
limited sense, and
the scope of the inventive subject matter is defined by the appended claims.
[0024] In the following embodiments, like components are labelled with
like
reference numerals.
[0025] In the following embodiments, data is described as being stored in
at least one
database. The term database is intended to encompass any data structure
(and/or
combinations of multiple data structures) for storing and/or organizing data,
including, but
not limited to, relational databases (e.g., Oracle databases, mySQL databases,
etc.), non-
relational databases (e.g., NoSQL databases, etc.), in-memory databases,
spreadsheets, as
comma separated values (CSV) files, eXtendible markup language (XML) files,
TeXT (TXT)
files, flat files, spreadsheet files, and/or any other widely used or
proprietary format for data
storage. Databases are typically stored in one or more data stores.
Accordingly, each database
referred to herein (e.g., in the description herein and/or the figures of the
present application)
is to be understood as being stored in one or more data stores. A "file
system" may control
how data is stored and/or retrieved (for example, a disk file system like FAT,
NTFS, optical
discs, etc., a flash file system, a tape file system, a database file system,
a transactional file
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system, a network file system, etc.). For simplicity, the disclosure is
described herein with
respect to databases. However, the systems and techniques disclosed herein may
be
implemented with file systems or a combination of databases and file systems.
[0026] In the following embodiments, the term data store is intended to
encompass
any computer readable storage medium and/or device (or collection of data
storage mediums
and/or devices). Examples of data stores include, but are not limited to,
optical disks (e.g.,
CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, etc.), magnetic disks (e.g., hard disks, floppy disks, etc.),
memory
circuits (e.g., solid state drives, random-access memory (RAM), etc.), and/or
the like.
Another example of a data store is a hosted storage environment that includes
a collection of
physical data storage devices that may be remotely accessible and may be
rapidly provisioned
as needed (commonly referred to as "cloud" storage).
[0027] The functions or algorithms described herein are implemented in
hardware,
software or a combination of software and hardware in one embodiment. The
software
comprises computer executable instructions stored on computer readable carrier
media such
as memory or other type of storage devices. Further, described functions may
correspond to
modules, which may be software, hardware, firmware, or any combination
thereof. Multiple
functions are performed in one or more modules as desired, and the embodiments
described
are merely examples. The software is executed on a digital signal processor,
ASIC,
microprocessor, or other type of processor operating on a system, such as a
personal
computer, server, a router, or other device capable of processing data
including network
interconnection devices.
[0028] Some embodiments implement the functions in two or more specific
interconnected hardware modules or devices with related control and data
signals
communicated between and through the modules, or as portions of an application-
specific
integrated circuit. Thus, the exemplary process flow is applicable to
software, firmware, and
hardware implementations.
[0029] A generalized embodiment comprises a method and system for
providing a
virtual office, in which an output is generated for display of the virtual
office including a
plurality of images of items of office equipment arranged in the virtual
office. Each item of
office equipment has stored image data for use in the generation of the image
in the virtual
office and code to perform an associated office function. A user input is
received to select an
image of an item of office equipment and to identify an operation to be
performed by the
office equipment and the identified operation is performed. The generated
output for display
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is modified to display an image of the selected item of office equipment
performing the
selected function.
[0030] The office function may comprise an operation on an electronic
document.
[0031] The displayed virtual office thus provides a simple and intuitive
user interface
for an office worker to use to perform office functions. The items of office
equipment can
comprise any of: paper, writing implements (e.g. pen, pencil, eraser,
highlighter etc.), a
printer, a scanner, a facsimile machine, a shredder, a filing cabinet, files,
a scanner, an in tray,
a white board, a pin board, a calculator, and even a computer for implementing
applications
such as email, a spreadsheet, or budgeting/ accounting software. This list is
merely
illustrative and not exhaustive.
[0032] The office functions that can be performed in the virtual office
may include,
the following operations on a document: filing, searching, shredding,
emailing, faxing,
printing, scanning, creating, saving opening, closing, editing/modifying,
posting, displaying
(such as on a shared white board or pin board), etc. The office function can
also be the
initiating of a telephone call or a video call/conference for example.
[0033] In this patent the term 'document' is intended to encompass any
form of data
that is held in a unit for electronic publication or communication in an
office environment
and it includes photographs and images, text, emails, etc.
[0034] In order to provide feedback to the user and to provide an
intuitive user
interface, the generated output can be modified to display an animation of the
image of the
selected item performing the selected function. So for example, a shedder
function can be
illustrated by an image of a shredder shedding a document, a printing function
can be
illustrated as an image of a printer printing, etc.
[0035] The office equipment may comprise paper carrying the electronic
document
content and the identified operation may comprise turning a page. The
generated output is
modified in response to display the image of the paper and electronic document
content with
a page turning.
[0036] The office equipment may comprise paper carrying the electronic
document
content and a writing instrument, such as a pen or pencil. The identified
operation may
comprise writing on the paper and the generated output is then modified to
display the image
of the writing appearing on the paper, and the electronic document is modified
according to
the writing.
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[0037] The office equipment may include an envelope and the identified
operation
may comprise writing on the envelope, inserting the paper in the envelope and
posting the
envelope. This can be termed virtual posting. The generated output is modified
in response to
display the image of the paper being inserted into the envelope, the image of
the writing
appearing on the envelope, and the image of the envelope being inserted into a
postbox. The
identified operation in this case comprises electronically communicating the
electronic
document in accordance with the writing on the envelope. The writing on the
envelope can be
input manually by the user or it can be retrieved from a source saved locally
or saved
remotely, such as saved contact details in an address book. The writing can
also be input by
cutting and pasting from other displayed text e.g. in another application or
window.
[0038] The office equipment may comprise files containing documents. The
electronic documents may be stored in electronic files associated with images
of the files.
This can be termed virtual filing. The identified operation can comprise
selecting a file, and
the generated output can be modified to display an image of the file being
selected. The
identified operation may comprise opening a file, and the generated output may
be modified
to display an image of the file being opened. The identified operation may
comprise selecting
a document in the file, and the generated output may be modified to display an
image of the
document being opened.
[0039] The office equipment may include a telephone or videophone and the
associated operation stored for the office function for the telephone may be
to a make a voice
or video telephone call.
[0040] In embodiments the virtual office processing interfaces with
office
applications providing standard office functions, such as word processing,
spreadsheets,
presentation applications, email applications, communication applications,
messaging
applications, image processing applications, drawing applications, document
management
applications, etc to provide a more intuitive interface to perform the office
functions. The
user is able to interact with items of office equipment in a more natural
manner in the virtual
office environment. The user can also interact with their avatars to control
them to operate
within the virtual office to interact with the images of the office equipment.
[0041] In one embodiment, the code for execution by a processor comprises
a virtual
office application to generate the output for display of the virtual office,
wherein the virtual
office application is interfaced to at least one office application for
performing the office
functions. Thus, standard available office applications, such as a word
processing application,
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a spreadsheet application etc can be used behind the virtual office interface
to avoid the need
to replace known office applications and provide an easier to use interface
without replacing
the standard document processing applications of an office.
[0042] The user can, in one embodiment, interface with a displayed output
and use a
pointer device and keyboard to make the user inputs. In alternative
embodiments, the user
interface can be any form of visual output and any form of input such as
keyboard, touch
screen, pointer device (such as a mouse, trackball, trackpad, or pen device),
audio recognition
hardware and/or software to recognize a sounds or speech from a user, gesture
recognition
input hardware and/or software, etc.
[0043] Specific embodiments will now be described with reference to the
drawings.
[0044] Figure 1 illustrates a generalized system according to one
embodiment.
[0045] Figure 1 illustrates modules implemented in a computing apparatus.
The
modules comprise logical units of code. However, the functions of the logical
units can be
performed by any suitable segregation or division of the code into modules.
[0046] A user interface 11 is connected to a virtual office processing
module 12 to
perform the processing to generate the virtual office output for display using
the user
interface 11. The virtual office processing module 12 accesses virtual office
data store 13 that
stores all of the required data to generate and render the virtual office
environment. For
example, the virtual office data store 13 may store image data for the items
of office
equipment, background office images, etc. A document data store 14 is
connected to the
virtual office processing module 12 to store the document data for use in the
virtual office
environment.
[0047] Figure 2 is a flow diagram of a method of providing a virtual
office using the
system of figure 1 according to one embodiment.
[0048] In step S10 an output is generated for display of the virtual
office including a
plurality of images of items of office equipment arranged in the virtual
office. Each item of
office equipment has stored image data for use in the generation of the image
in the virtual
office and code to perform an associated office function. An office function
may comprise an
operation on an electronic document as broadly defined above. In step Sll a
user input is
received to select an image of an item of office equipment and to identify an
operation to be
performed by the office equipment on an electronic document. In step S12 the
identified
operation is performed on the electronic document and in step S13 the
generated output for
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display is modified to display an image of the selected item of office
equipment performing
the selected function.
[0049] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an office system
according to one
embodiment.
[0050] In this embodiment, a virtual office processing module 22 is
connected to a
user interface 21 to provide a virtual office output for display using data
stored in the virtual
office data store 25. The virtual office processing module is interfaced to a
plurality of office
applications comprising office processing modules 23A, 23B and 23C. An office
file storage
module 24 is provided connected to each of the office processing modules 23A,
23B and 23C
to store the data A, B and C respectively associated with respective office
processing
modules 23A, 23B and 23C. The office processing modules 23A, 23B and 23C can
comprise
any convention application for providing an office function, including high
level applications
for performing office functions such as word processing, presentation
processing, spreadsheet
processing, image processing, social networking, emailing, etc. and lower
level application
such as a printer driver, a shredder or secure delete application, etc. Thus,
in this
embodiment, the virtual office environment provides a top-level interface
allowing a user to
more intuitively perform office functions and access applications they are
familiar with or
that are standard and are required to be used in the office e.g. for policy
reasons or for
compatibility reasons.
[0051] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a networked system
providing a
virtual office according to one embodiment.
[0052] Figure 4 illustrates two client devices 100A and 100B, for use by
a user. Any
number of client devices may be used. The client devices 100A and 100B can
comprise any
type of computing or processing machine, such as a personal computer, a
laptop, a tablet
computer, a personal organizer, a mobile device, smart phone, a mobile
telephone, a video
player, a television, an audio player, a multimedia device, personal digital
assistant, etc.
[0053] The client devices 100A and 100B are connected to a communications
network, such as the internet 50. A server system 1000 is connected to the
internet 50 to
provide the virtual office over the internet 50. The server system 1000
comprises a network
interface 110 and a virtual office application 120. The virtual office
application is connected
to a virtual office data store 130 that stores all of the required data to
generate and render the
virtual office environment for display at the client devices 100A and 100B.
For example, the
virtual office data store 130 may store image data for the items of office
equipment,
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background office images, etc. A document data store 140 is connected to the
virtual office
application 120 to store the document data for use in the virtual office
environment provided
to the client devices 100A and 100B.
[0054] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a display of a
virtual office output
from the system according to one embodiment. The virtual office can be a
representation of a
3D environment displayed on a 2D display.
[0055] The display 200 displays a virtual office including a desk, a
chair and a
number of items of office equipment that the user can interact with the input
instructions for
the processing of documents. In this embodiment on the desk is a laptop 202
and printer 201.
By the desk is a trash basket 203 and a shredder 204 and in the corner is a
filing cabinet 205.
On one wall is a shelf with books 206 and on the other is a shelf with files
207 and a shared
white board and pin board 208. A bookcase 209 is also displayed next to the
desk. All of
these displayed images of items of office equipment are selectable by a user
to select to
perform processing corresponding to the expected normal function of the
illustrated item of
office equipment. For example, if the user has a document open on the desk,
they can place it
by a drag and drop operation for example in the trash basket 203 to delete it.
If the user wants
to securely delete the document, they can place it, by a drag and drop
operation for example,
in the shredder 204. To print a document, a user can drag a drop the document
onto the
printer 201 to cause the printing operation. Although drag and drop operations
are described
as examples, the user can interface by any means such as touch and voice.
[0056] The shared whiteboard and pin board 208 enables the user to write
messages
and add documents to be viewable by other users that can use the shared office
environment.
[0057] The bookcase 209 enables a user to select it to access a library
of reference
books. An image of a telephone 214 is provided to enable a user to select the
image to initiate
the office function of a telephone call (or a video call if the telephone has
a video function).
[0058] The execution of other office functions using the virtual office
environment
will now be described with reference to figures 6 to 14.
[0059] Figures 6A and 6B are schematic diagrams illustrating a display of
a virtual
office output from the system during file selection according to one
embodiment.
[0060] As shown in figure 6A, a user can select the files 207 on the
shelf to search for
an open a document in one of the files. The sequence of images that appear in
the virtual
office are illustrated in figure 6B, which illustrated the animated states of
the files 207 on the
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shelf during the process. When a user makes a selection of a file it is shown
as moving from
the shelf to leave an empty space on the shelf.
[0061] Figures 7A and 7B are schematic diagrams illustrating a display of
a virtual
office output from the system during document selection according to one
embodiment.
[0062] When the file is selected in figure 6B, it is placed on the desk
and a user can
select a document from the file. The selected document is shown open on the
desk next to the
selected file. To read the document, the user can select it and it will be
displayed in a larger
form. If the user wishes to operate on the document, the user can select to
manipulate the
document, e.g. edit it, and a word processing application can be opened to
enable the word
processing of the document. The word processing interface can overlay the
virtual office
display or in a separate display area or separate display screen. This applies
equally to access
any other document processing application, such as a spreadsheet application,
presentation
application, or accounts application etc.
[0063] The display of the document in a display area can be manipulated
in a similar
manner that a user would interact with paper. Figures 8A and 8B are schematic
diagrams
illustrating a display of a virtual office output from the system during page
turning of a
document according to one embodiment. Hence, the user is able to select to
display a next
page by performing a simple selection operation such as a drag operation to
turn a page of the
document and the image of the paper (an item of office equipment) is modified
to illustrate
the page turning operation.
[0064] Figures 9A and 9B are schematic diagrams illustrating a display of
a virtual
office output from the system during writing of a document according to one
embodiment
[0065] In this embodiment, the interaction of the user with the document
can be
displayed on the table and the user input can be displayed as an action of a
pen writing on the
paper.
[0066] Figure 10 is a diagram illustrating a display sequence output from
the system
during document virtual posting according to one embodiment.
[0067] In this embodiment, the document can be displayed on the table and
a user can
select to write a document and send it as an electronic communication, such as
an email. The
sequence of figure 10 illustrates the operation selecting a document, writing
on the document,
inserting the document into a virtual envelope, addressing the envelope, and
posting the
envelope. A stamp can be affixed to the envelope and in order to acquire a
stamp a user may
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be required to pay or obtain permission. The stamp can include any desired
image, such as
the company logo.
[0068] The virtual office represents different type of office environment
whereby
dealing with virtual mail is an important operation in the office. The virtual
mail posting and
delivery system allows for the sending and receiving i.e. posting and delivery
of the virtual
mail including virtual correspondence; including virtual, letters, leaflets,
cards flyers, parcels
etc.
[0069] This embodiment provides a visual and intuitive method for a user
to send
electronic communications, such as email.
[0070] Figures 11A and 11B are schematic diagrams illustrating a display
of a virtual
office output from the system during document writing according to one
embodiment. In this
embodiment, a user can write noted on a notepad and these can be stored as a
document. The
writing operation can be illustrated as a virtual writing instrument such as a
pen or pencil
writing onto virtual paper.
[0071] Figures 12A and 12B are schematic diagrams illustrating a display
of a virtual
office output from the system during mail reading according to one embodiment.
Thus
embodiment can be used in conjunction with the embodiment of figure 10, which
describe
the creation and sending of electronic communications.
[0072] A user may be notified that they have mail (or any form of
electronic
communications) by a simple notification. In one embodiment the notification
could be a pile
of virtual envelopes on the desk or in an in-tray. The user can select to view
the envelopes as
shown in the first part of figure 12B and a user can select to open one of the
envelopes and
read the document contain therein. The user can also select to reply to the
message in the
envelope and the envelope can automatically readdress to send back to the
sender.
[0073] Figures 13A and 13B are schematic diagrams illustrating a display
of a virtual
office output from the system during social network entry according to one
embodiment.
[0074] A document in this embodiment comprises text entered into a social
network
interface. The user is able to open a social network page as a document and to
interact with it
as if it were document.
[0075] Figure 14 is a schematic diagram illustrating display in a section
of a virtual
office output from the system during document filing and searching according
to one
embodiment. This embodiment illustrates the interaction by a user with the
filing cabinet 205
of figure 5.
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[0076]
When a user selects the filing cabinet 205, a search entry box 300 can be
displayed to enable a user to enter a search string as a query for a document
stored in the
filing cabinet. When a user enters the query "File A" and the file is found,
the filing cabinet
image is modified to show a drawer opening and a document being taken out.
[0077] The
virtual office can also be a home office. The virtual office interface can
also be used as an interface to a virtual office that can be 'occupied' or
shared with multiple
users and is a shared office environment whereby an administrator user can be,
for example,
the employer. There may be many offices within the main virtual office area,
or they can be
linked in with each other. In this environment files may be accessed,
transferred and shared.
Similarly, users can share books using the bookshelf, view each other's books,
add books to
the bookshelf, and download new books from a source, such as over the
internet.
[0078]
Although the virtual office has been described above with no reference to the
depiction of any office workers, in an embodiment, office workers can be
depicted by
avatars. The avatars can interact, and the virtual office displayed can
encompass a virtual
meeting or conference to enable the attendees to interact with images of items
of office
equipment. The avatars can interact with each other and they can interact with
the virtual
office equipment to move the images of the office equipment in the virtual
office to
reconfigure the layout of the office.
[0079] In
one embodiment, the method and system can be used with the method and
apparatus disclosed in copending US patent application number ,
filed on the same
date as this application and entitled "VIRTUAL MEETING PARTICIPANT RESPONSE
INDICATION METHOD AND SYSTEM", the content of which is hereby incorporated in
its
entirety.
[0080] The
user can, in one embodiment, interface with a displayed output and use a
pointer device and keyboard to make the user inputs. In alternative
embodiments, the user
interface can be any form of visual output and any form of input such as
keyboard, touch
screen, pointer device (such as a mouse, trackball, trackpad, or pen device),
audio recognition
hardware and/or software to recognize a sounds or speech from a user, gesture
recognition
input hardware and/or software, etc.
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BASIC COMPUTING DEVICE
[0081] Figure 15 is a block diagram that illustrates a basic computing
device 600 in
which the example embodiment(s) of the present invention may be embodied.
Computing
device 600 and its components, including their connections, relationships, and
functions, is
meant to be exemplary only, and not meant to limit implementations of the
example
embodiment(s). Other computing devices suitable for implementing the example
embodiment(s) may have different components, including components with
different
connections, relationships, and functions.
[0082] The computing device 600 can comprise any of the servers or the
client device
as illustrated in figure 3 or the computer apparatus on which the modules of
figure 1 are
implemented for example.
[0083] Computing device 600 may include a bus 602 or other communication
mechanism for addressing main memory 606 and for transferring data between and
among
the various components of device 600.
[0084] Computing device 600 may also include one or more hardware
processors 604
coupled with bus 602 for processing information. A hardware processor 604 may
be a
general-purpose microprocessor, a system on a chip (SoC), or other processor.
[0085] Main memory 606, such as a random-access memory (RAM) or other
dynamic
storage device, also may be coupled to bus 602 for storing information and
software
instructions to be executed by processor(s) 604. Main memory 606 also may be
used for
storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution
of software
instructions to be executed by processor(s) 604.
[0086] Software instructions, when stored in storage media accessible to
processor(s)
604, render computing device 600 into a special-purpose computing device that
is customized
to perform the operations specified in the software instructions. The terms
"software",
"software instructions", "computer program", "computer-executable
instructions", and
"processor-executable instructions" are to be broadly construed to cover any
machine-
readable information, whether or not human-readable, for instructing a
computing device to
perform specific operations, and including, but not limited to, application
software, desktop
applications, scripts, binaries, operating systems, device drivers, boot
loaders, shells, utilities,
system software, JAVASCR1PT, web pages, web applications, plugins, embedded
software,
microcode, compilers, debuggers, interpreters, virtual machines, linkers, and
text editors.
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[0087] Computing device 600 also may include read only memory (ROM) 608
or
other static storage device coupled to bus 602 for storing static information
and software
instructions for processor(s) 604.
[0088] One or more mass storage devices 610 may be coupled to bus 602 for
persistently storing information and software instructions on fixed or
removable media, such
as magnetic, optical, solid-state, magnetic-optical, flash memory, or any
other available mass
storage technology. The mass storage may be shared on a network, or it may be
dedicated
mass storage. Typically, at least one of the mass storage devices 610 (e.g.,
the main hard disk
for the device) stores a body of program and data for directing operation of
the computing
device, including an operating system, user application programs, driver and
other support
files, as well as other data files of all sorts.
[0089] Computing device 600 may be coupled via bus 602 to display 612,
such as a
liquid crystal display (LCD) or other electronic visual display, for
displaying information to a
computer user. In some configurations, a touch sensitive surface incorporating
touch
detection technology (e.g., resistive, capacitive, etc.) may be overlaid on
display 612 to form
a touch sensitive display for communicating touch gesture (e.g., finger or
stylus) input to
processor(s) 604.
[0090] An input device 614, including alphanumeric and other keys, may be
coupled
to bus 602 for communicating information and command selections to processor
604. In
addition to or instead of alphanumeric and other keys, input device 614 may
include one or
more physical buttons or switches such as, for example, a power (on/off)
button, a "home"
button, volume control buttons, or the like.
[0091] Another type of user input device may be a cursor control 616,
such as a
mouse, a trackball, a cursor, a touch screen, or direction keys for
communicating direction
information and command selections to processor 604 and for controlling cursor
movement
on display 612. This input device typically has two degrees of freedom in two
axes, a first
axis (e.g., x) and a second axis (e.g., y), that allows the device to specify
positions in a plane.
Other input device embodiments include an audio or speech recognition input
module to
recognize audio input such as speech, a visual input device capable of
recognizing gestures
by a user, and a keyboard.
[0092] While in some configurations, such as the configuration depicted
in figure 15,
one or more of display 612, input device 614, and cursor control 616 are
external components
(i.e., peripheral devices) of computing device 600, some or all of display
612, input device
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614, and cursor control 616 are integrated as part of the form factor of
computing device 600
in other configurations.
[0093] In addition to or in place of the display 612 any other form of
user output
device can be sued such as an audio output device or a tactile (vibrational)
output device.
[0094] Functions of the disclosed systems, methods, and modules may be
performed
by computing device 600 in response to processor(s) 604 executing one or more
programs of
software instructions contained in main memory 606. Such software instructions
may be read
into main memory 606 from another storage medium, such as storage device(s)
610 or a
transmission medium. Execution of the software instructions contained in main
memory 606
cause processor(s) 604 to perform the functions of the example embodiment(s).
[0095] While functions and operations of the example embodiment(s) may be
implemented entirely with software instructions, hard-wired or programmable
circuitry of
computing device 600 (e.g., an ASIC, a FPGA, or the like) may be used in other
embodiments in place of or in combination with software instructions to
perform the
functions, according to the requirements of the particular implementation at
hand.
[0096] The term "storage media" as used herein refers to any non-
transitory media
that store data and/or software instructions that cause a computing device to
operate in a
specific fashion. Such storage media may comprise non-volatile media and/or
volatile media.
Non-volatile media includes, for example, non-volatile random-access memory
(NVRAM),
flash memory, optical disks, magnetic disks, or solid-state drives, such as
storage device 610.
Volatile media includes dynamic memory, such as main memory 606. Common forms
of
storage media include, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk,
solid-state drive,
magnetic tape, or any other magnetic data storage medium, a CD-ROM, any other
optical
data storage medium, any physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a
PROM, and
EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, NVRAM, flash memory, any other memory chip or cartridge.
[0097] Storage media is distinct from but may be used in conjunction with
transmission media. Transmission media participates in transferring
information between
storage media. For example, transmission media includes coaxial cables, copper
wire and
fiber optics, including the wires that comprise bus 602. Transmission media
can also take the
form of acoustic or light waves, such as those generated during radio-wave and
infra-red data
communications. A machine-readable medium carrying instructions in the form of
code can
comprise a non-transient storage medium and a transmission medium.
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[0098] Various forms of media may be involved in carrying one or more
sequences of
one or more software instructions to processor(s) 604 for execution. For
example, the
software instructions may initially be carried on a magnetic disk or solid-
state drive of a
remote computer. The remote computer can load the software instructions into
its dynamic
memory and send the software instructions over a telephone line using a modem.
A modem
local to computing device 600 can receive the data on the telephone line and
use an infra-red
transmitter to convert the data to an infra-red signal. An infra-red detector
can receive the
data carried in the infra-red signal and appropriate circuitry can place the
data on bus 602.
Bus 602 carries the data to main memory 606, from which processor(s) 604
retrieves and
executes the software instructions. The software instructions received by main
memory 606
may optionally be stored on storage device(s) 610 either before or after
execution by
processor(s) 604.
[0099] Computing device 600 also may include one or more communication
interface(s) 618 coupled to bus 602. A communication interface 618 provides a
two-way data
communication coupling to a wired or wireless network link 620 that is
connected to a local
network 622 (e.g., Ethernet network, Wireless Local Area Network, cellular
phone network,
Bluetooth wireless network, or the like). Communication interface 618 sends
and receives
electrical, electromagnetic, or optical signals that carry digital data
streams representing
various types of information. For example, communication interface 618 may be
a wired
network interface card, a wireless network interface card with an integrated
radio antenna, or
a modem (e.g., ISDN, DSL, or cable modem).
[00100] Network link(s) 620 typically provide data communication through
one or
more networks to other data devices. For example, a network link 620 may
provide a
connection through a local network 622 to a host computer or to data equipment
operated by
an Internet Service Provider (ISP). ISP in turn provides data communication
services through
the world wide packet data communication network now commonly referred to as
the
"Internet". Local network(s) 622 and Internet use electrical, electromagnetic
or optical
signals that carry digital data streams. The signals through the various
networks and the
signals on network link(s) 620 and through communication interface(s) 618,
which carry the
digital data to and from computing device 600, are example forms of
transmission media.
[00101] Computing device 600 can send messages and receive data, including
program
code, through the network(s), network link(s) 620 and communication
interface(s) 618. In the
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Internet example, a server might transmit a requested code for an application
program
through Internet, ISP, local network(s) 622 and communication interface(s)
618.
[00102] The received code may be executed by processor 604 as it is
received, and/or
stored in storage device 610, or other non-volatile storage for later
execution.
[00103] One aspect provides a carrier medium, such as a non-transient
storage medium
storing code for execution by a processor of a machine to carry out the
method, or a transient
medium carrying processor executable code for execution by a processor of a
machine to
carry out the method. Embodiments can be implemented in programmable digital
logic that
implements computer code. The code can be supplied to the programmable logic,
such as a
processor or microprocessor, on a carrier medium. One such embodiment of a
carrier medium
is a transient medium i.e. a signal such as an electrical, electromagnetic,
acoustic, magnetic,
or optical signal. Another form of carrier medium is a non-transitory storage
medium that
stores the code, such as a solid-state memory, magnetic media (hard disk
drive), or optical
media (Compact disc (CD) or digital versatile disc (DVD)).
[00104] It will be readily understood to those skilled in the art that
various other
changes in the details, material, and arrangements of the parts and method
stages which have
been described and illustrated in order to explain the nature of the inventive
subject matter
may be made without departing from the principles and scope of the inventive
subject matter
as expressed in the subjoined claims.
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