Interactive Multi-tasker Unified App Tray Cross-Device Sync
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users face inconvenience in managing and synchronizing task and application lists across multiple portable devices, as current technologies lack seamless integration and remote control capabilities, requiring manual access and repetitive actions to view or perform actions on apps and tasks across devices.
Innovation Solution
An interactive multi-tasker and unified app tray system that synchronizes task and application lists across devices, allowing users to view and manage tasks and apps from one device, perform actions like launching or terminating tasks and apps on other devices, and transfer app states using a server-mediated or direct short-range wireless communication approach.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If users manually access each device to view and manage apps and tasks, then complete information can be obtained, but the operation becomes burdensome and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the task and application lists from multiple devices into a single unified view displayed on one device. The server collects task and app data from multiple devices and consolidates them, allowing users to manage all devices' content from a single interface without manually accessing each device.
Solution Approach 2:
The server acts as an intermediary between multiple user devices. It collects, synchronizes, and manages task and application lists across devices, enabling remote access and management capabilities without requiring direct device-by-device interaction from the user.
2Ease of operation
If users access each device individually to perform actions on apps, then precise control is possible, but the process becomes repetitive and inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The server serves as a mediator that receives control commands from one device and forwards them to the target device. This allows users to perform actions like launching or terminating apps on remote devices through a single unified interface, maintaining precise control while eliminating repetitive manual access.
Solution Approach 2:
The unified task and application list interface provides universal control capabilities across multiple devices. A single interface can manage tasks and apps on any connected device, making the system multi-functional and eliminating the need for device-specific operations.
3Loss of information
If users want to view app lists on all devices, then complete information is available, but physical access to all devices is required
Solution Approach 1:
The server acts as an intermediary that collects application list information from all user devices and makes it accessible through a single device interface. Users can view the complete application inventory across all devices without needing physical access to each device, as the server aggregates and presents the unified information.
Solution Approach 2:
The server creates a copy or representation of the application and task lists from multiple devices and presents this consolidated view on a single device. This allows users to access complete information centrally without needing to physically interact with each source device.
4Reliability
If actions are performed on apps from the current device only, then device isolation is maintained, but cross-device control capability is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The server acts as an intermediary that enables cross-device control while maintaining device independence. It receives commands from one device, identifies the target device, and executes the appropriate actions on the target device's apps or tasks, allowing versatile cross-device control without compromising individual device integrity.
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosure is directed to an interactive multi-tasker for casting applications executing on a first computing device of a user on any of multiple computing devices of the user from any of the computing devices. Each of the computing devices presents a unified view of tasks and applications executing on each of the computing devices through the multi-tasker. The user can perform multiple actions on the tasks and applications, e.g., cast using a first device an instance of an application that is executing on a second device on to a third device. The state data is synchronized from the second device to the third device. Another instance of the application resumes execution on the third device using the synchronized state data. Once cast, each of the instances of the application executes independently of each other.