Cooperative UI Layer Management for Inter-Device Sessions

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current inter-device communication technologies face challenges in managing user interface layers effectively between mobile terminals and remote environments, particularly in ensuring safety and regulatory compliance by disabling or enabling specific user interface options based on context, such as during vehicle use.

Innovation Solution

The method involves maintaining a terminal session between a server device and a client device, where the client device emulates a display from the server, and exchanges information on white-listed and black-listed user interface layers to manage user inputs, redirecting inputs to appropriate layers based on context rules, ensuring only enabled layers are displayed and interacted with.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If all user interface layers are displayed and enabled at the remote environment, then user interaction flexibility is improved, but safety and regulatory compliance deteriorate due to unauthorized or unsafe inputs

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveuser interaction flexibilityVSAvoidsafety and regulatory compliance
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism (terminal session with emulation layer) between the remote environment and the mobile terminal. This intermediary filters and manages user inputs, allowing only permitted interface layers to be displayed and interacted with at the remote environment, thus maintaining safety while preserving user flexibility through the emulation layer.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system dynamically manages user interface layers by enabling or disabling specific layers based on context rules. The emulation layer can adaptively adjust which interface layers are available for interaction, changing the system behavior in real-time based on safety requirements and regulatory compliance needs while maintaining overall user flexibility.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

2Reliability

If context-specific interface restrictions are implemented, then safety and regulatory compliance are improved, but user interaction flexibility deteriorates due to limited available options

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesafety and regulatory complianceVSAvoiduser interaction flexibility
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The emulation layer acts as an intermediary that preserves the full user interface flexibility in the mobile terminal while selectively restricting only what is displayed at the remote environment. This allows context-specific restrictions to be implemented for safety without permanently limiting the user's interaction flexibility, as the full interface remains available through the emulation session.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system applies different quality levels to different interface layers based on their safety characteristics. Critical interface layers that pose safety risks are restricted or disabled at the remote environment, while non-critical layers maintain full interactivity. This local differentiation allows safety compliance without unnecessarily limiting overall user flexibility.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

3Reliability

If user input redirection is implemented for disabled layers, then safety is improved by preventing unauthorized inputs, but system complexity increases due to additional input management logic

Engineering Contradiction:
ImprovesafetyVSAvoidinput management logic
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The emulation layer serves as an intermediary that centralizes the input management logic. Instead of distributing complex redirection logic across multiple components, the emulation layer uniformly handles all user inputs, redirecting attempts to access disabled interface layers to appropriate enabled layers or dismissing them. This centralized approach improves safety while minimizing overall system complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentEP2564287B1Method and apparatus for providing cooperative user interface layer management with respect to inter-device communications
Publication Date: 2020.11.18 NOKIA TECHNOLOGIES OY
  • EP2564287B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2564287B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2564287B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

An apparatus for providing cooperative user interface layer management may include at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured, with the processor, to cause the apparatus to perform at least maintaining a terminal session between a server device and a client device in which the client device emulates at least a portion of a display presented at the server device, receiving, at the server device, an indication identifying a user interface layer for which display of information related to the user interface layer is not supported at the client device, and determining a response to a user input provided at the client device based on whether the user input relates to the user interface layer identified by the indication. A corresponding method and computer program product are also provided.