AU2010257310A1 - Proximity-based redistribution of modular user interface components - Google Patents

Abstract

Proximity-based redistribution of modular user interface components A method (300) of distributing the functionality of a user interface across a plurality of 5 display devices is disclosed. The method provides the user interface (403) on a first display device (401), the user interface including a plurality of user interface modules (404,405,406) which together provide the user interface functionality. At least one characteristic (e.g. resolution) of at least one second display device (602) is determined when the second display device is within a predetermined proximity (604) of the first 10 display device. At least one user interface module (404) to be displayed on the second display device is selected based on the determined characteristic of the second display device and disabled (605) from display of the selected user interface module on the first display device. The method adjusts (902, 903) the display of the user interface modules remaining on the first display device so as to use at least a part of the first display released 15 by disabling display of the selected user interface module on the first display device. The first display device communicates with the second display device to enable the second display device to display (903) the selected user interface module, thereby distributing the user interface functionality across the first and second display devices. First user starts application and creates collaboration session Lay out user interface modules 300 comprising a single user interface on a single display surface 301 Second device starts application and joins the same collaboration session as first device 302 Is device co-located Display all UI modules with first dviced No--+ on second device as on ith first device? the first device Yes 304 Determine at least one characteristic of the second display device Determine at least one UI module to Fig. 3 be distributed to the second display device based on at least one 306 physical characteristic Disable display of selected UI 307 309 module or modules on first display The first display device Redistribute remaining UI communicates with second modules on first display device display device to enable display of selected UI module or modules on the second display ~~140)111 1 970334 fias lode -------------------------- 506 IMessage text 2 Message text 2 Mess age text 350 504 New Text Cen~d - 505 Fig. 5 222A132 1 970334 fias lodae

Description

S&F Ref: 970334 AUSTRALIA PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT Name and Address Canon Kabushiki Kaisha, of 30-2, Shimomaruko 3 of Applicant: chome, Ohta-ku, Tokyo, 146, Japan Actual Inventor(s): Dino Talic Address for Service: Spruson & Ferguson St Martins Tower Level 35 31 Market Street Sydney NSW 2000 (CCN 3710000177) Invention Title: Proximity-based redistribution of modular user interface components The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us: 5845c(3231857_1) - - 1 Proximity-based redistribution of modular user interface components TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates generally to user interfaces and, in particular, to the distribution of user interface components amongst a number of proximate devices. BACKGROUND 5 In recent times there has been a significant proliferation of portable digital devices, such as mobile phones and digital cameras. Furthermore, the memory, processing power and general networking speed of these devices has increased at a rapid rate. This has enabled for more advanced computational tasks to be carried out on portable digital devices. For example, so-called "smartphones", such as the iPhoneTm manufactured by 10 Apple Inc. of the USA, have enabled users to carry out tasks such as word processing, Internet browsing and emailing directly on their portable device. These tasks were traditionally carried out on significantly more sizable and general purpose machines such as traditional personal computers and laptops. This signals a shift away from traditional computing devices to small form factor portable devices, such as mobile phones. 15 This proliferation of mobile devices coupled with their increasing capability has seen a rise in mobile collaboration tools, such as image sharing applications, appearing on the market. Even with the increasing processing capabilities of portable digital devices, one major problem still remains however, namely, a small display surface and limited user input methods. As such, the user interface of portable digital devices is generally 20 considered not as user friendly as those found on a larger display device, such as typically associated with desktop computers. This has hindered the uptake of collaborative applications on portable digital devices.

-2 Several methods have attempted to overcome this problem. One method, described in United States Patent Publication No. 20090064020 (Microsoft Corp.) published March 05, 2009, employs a system where a user interface is composed of distinct panels which are displayed individually on a small screen display. However, when the user 5 interface is displayed on a large screen display the user interface components are displayed together as a nested user interface. Thus each user interface panel can be individually displayed on a small screen display in order to maximise the screen real estate. The user can then navigate between individual user interface panels. This method addresses the problem of more efficiently displaying user interface components on small screen devices. 10 However, it is limited to a single device.. Another method is exemplified by the game ScrabbleTM for iPadTM (version 1.1.61). This is a software application for execution on an iPadTM device, also made by Apple Inc., and which implements a distributed modular user interface. The method uses a large display device as the central display and replicates small user interface components onto 15 small screen devices. This has the advantage of allowing the user to view large user interface components on a larger display, more suitable for their display. At the same time, the method is able to replicate small user interface components on small screen portable device for easier user manipulation and interaction with the system. SUMMARY 20 Disclosed are arrangements that provides for the distribution of a single user interface across multiple displays. Moreover, the arrangements provide for modular user interface components to be distributed amongst a number of distinct but proximate displays of different display devices to increase and preferably maximise the presentation of the entire user interface to a number of proximate users. 3229137_1 970334_speci_lodge -3 In accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method of distributing user interface functionality across a plurality of display devices, said method comprising: providing the user interface on a first display device, said user interface including a 5 plurality of user interface modules which together provide the user interface functionality; determining at least one characteristic of at least one second display device when said second display device is within a predetermined proximity of the first display device; selecting at least one user interface module to be displayed on the second display device based on the determined characteristic of the second display device; 10 disabling display of the selected user interface module on the first display device; adjusting the display of the user interface modules remaining on the first display device so as to use at least a part of the first display released by disabling display of the selected user interface module on the first display device; and the first display device communicating with the second display device to enable the 15 second display device to display the selected user interface module, thereby distributing the user interface functionality across the first and second display devices. The characteristic of the second display device is selected from the group consisting of: (i) a display size of the second display device; (ii) processing power associated with the second display device; (iii) a display resolution of the second display device; (iv) 20 physical memory of the second display device; (v) software executing on the second display device; (vi) image capture ability available on the second device; (vii) camera resolution of the second device; and (viii) presence of additional peripheral functions on second device. The additional peripheral functions are selected from the group consisting 3229137_1 970334_speci_lodge -4 of digital compass, satellite navigation, and cellular data connectivity. The software comprises an operating system executing on the second display device. Desirably communication between the first display device and the second display device is via at least one of a direct wireless link, an indirect wireless link, and an indirect 5 wired link via a network server. The method may also establish security level and/or user rights based on a proximity between the first device and the second device, the established rights limiting the interface functionality distributed to the second display device. Preferably selecting step comprises examining characteristics of the user interface 10 modules to select at least one user interface module for display on the second display device. Also disclosed is a system for generating a photo album, the system comprising: a plurality of computerized devices each having a corresponding display upon which a user interface associated with an photo album application executable by each of 15 the devices can be reproduced, the user interface having a plurality of modules by which functionality of the user interface is reproduced upon the displays, at least one of the devices having a relatively limited display size; a collaboration process operable upon a predetermined proximity between at least two of the devices to establish a collaboration session associated with an instance of the 20 application and associated user interface operating upon the at least two devices; a source of images accessible by the two devices when the collaboration session is established; and a distribution process operable when the collaboration session is established for: 3229137_1 970334_specilodge - 5 determining at least one characteristic of at least one first computerized device when said first computerized device is within a predetermined proximity of a second said computerized device; selecting at least one module of the plurality of modules of the user interface 5 to be displayed on the first computerized device based on the determined characteristic of the first computerized device; disabling display of the selected user interface module on the second computerized device; and adjusting the display of the user interface modules remaining on the second 10 computerized device so as to use at least a part of the display released by disabling display of the selected user interface module on the second display device; wherein the second computerized device communicates with the first computerized device to enable the first computerized device to display the selected user interface module, thereby distributing the user interface functionality across the first and 15 second computerized devices; and the photo album application responds to commands input by one or both of the first and second computerized devices to display images from the source in the distributed user interface modules. Desirably at least one of the computerized devices comprises a camera, said camera 20 operating as at least part of the source of images. Other aspects are also disclosed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS At least one embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings, in which: 3229137_1 970334_speci_lodge -6 Fig. IA and 1B collectively form a schematic block diagram representation of an electronic device upon which described arrangements can be practised; Fig. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a data processing architecture according to the present disclosure; 5 Fig. 3 is a schematic flow diagram illustrating a method of distributing user interface functionality; Fig. 4 is an exemplary illustration of a general purpose user interface displayed on portable digital device; Fig. 5 depicts an example user interface module to be displayed on a portable 10 digital device; Fig. 6 is a system diagram showing the redistribution of modular user interface components for devices in proximity; Fig. 7 is a table showing the different display characteristics of two portable digital devices; 15 Fig. 8 is a table comparing the advantages of displaying three user interface modules on different devices; Figs. 9A and 9B illustrate the display of a portable digital devices after the user interface modules have been redistributed; Fig. 10 illustrates dynamic distribution based on proximity; and 20 Fig. 11 illustrates the provision of tiered security levels amongst different groups of co-located devices. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION Disclosed are methods which involve and arrangements which provide for the repartitioning of a single user interface across multiple co-located devices. A user interface 3229137_1 970334_specilodge -7 is composed of distinct user interface components which are distributed across multiple co located devices in order to maximise the aggregate display size. The user interface components are distributed so as to pair components with the device best capable of displaying them. 5 Hardware Platform Figs. IA and I B collectively form a schematic block diagram of a general purpose electronic device 101 including embedded components, upon which the user interface distribution methods to be described are desirably practiced. The electronic device 101 may be, for example, a mobile phone, a portable media player or a digital camera, in which 10 processing resources are limited. Nevertheless, the methods to be described may also be performed on higher-level devices such as desktop computers, server computers, and other such devices with significantly larger processing resources. As seen in Fig. IA, the electronic device 101 comprises an embedded controller 102. Accordingly, the electronic device 101 may be referred to as an "embedded 15 device." In the present example, the controller 102 has a processing unit (or processor) 105 which is bi-directionally coupled to an internal storage module 109. The storage module 109 may be formed from non-volatile semiconductor read only memory (ROM) 160 and semiconductor random access memory (RAM) 170, as seen in Fig. 1B. The RAM 170 may be volatile, non-volatile or a combination of volatile and non-volatile 20 memory. The electronic device 101 includes a display controller 107, which is connected to a video display 114, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel or the like. The display controller 107 is configured for displaying graphical images on the video display 114 in 3229137_1 970334_speci lodge -8 accordance with instructions received from the embedded controller 102, to which the display controller 107 is connected. The electronic device 101 also includes user interface (UI) or input devices 113 which are typically formed by keys, a keypad or like controls. In some implementations, 5 the user input devices 113 may include a touch sensitive panel physically associated with the display 114 to collectively form a touch-screen. Such a touch-screen may thus operate as one form of a graphical user interface (GUI) as opposed to a prompt or menu driven GUI typically used with keypad-display combinations. Other forms of user input devices may also be used, such as a microphone (not illustrated) for voice commands or a 10 joystick/thumb wheel (not illustrated) for ease of navigation about menus. As seen in Fig. IA, the electronic device 101 also comprises a portable memory interface 106, which is coupled to the processor 105 via a connection 119. The portable memory interface 106 allows a complementary portable memory device 125 to be coupled to the electronic device 101 to act as a source or destination of data or to supplement the 15 internal storage module 109. Examples of such interfaces permit coupling with portable memory devices such as Universal Serial Bus (USB) memory devices, Secure Digital (SD) cards, Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) cards, optical disks and magnetic disks. The electronic device 101 also has a communications interface 108 to permit 20 coupling of the device 101 to a computer or communications network 120 via a connection 121. The connection 121 may be wired or wireless. For example, the connection 121 may be radio frequency or optical. An example of a wired connection includes Ethernet. Further, an example of a direct wireless connection or link includes BluetoothTM type local interconnection, and indirect wireless link such as Wi-Fi (including 3229137_1 970334_speci_lodge -9 protocols based on the standards of the IEEE 802.11 family where communication between a device and a wireless server), Infrared Data Association (IrDa) and the like. Typically, the electronic device 101 is configured to perform some special function. The embedded controller 102, possibly in conjunction with further special 5 function components 110, is provided to perform that special function. For example, where the device 101 is a digital camera, the components 110 may represent a lens, focus control and image sensor of the camera. The special function components 110 is connected to the embedded controller 102. As another example, the device 101 may be a mobile telephone handset. In this instance, the components 110 may represent those components 10 required for communications in a cellular telephone environment. Where the device 101 is a portable device, the special function components 110 may represent a number of encoders and decoders of a type including Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG), (Moving Picture Experts Group) MPEG, MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3 (MP3), and the like, or perform a combination of various functions (e.g. camera, mobile cellular telephone, 15 scanner, and so on). The methods described hereinafter may be implemented using the embedded controller 102, where the processes of Figs. 2 to 12 may be implemented as one or more software application programs 133 executable within the embedded controller 102. The electronic device 101 of Fig. IA implements the described methods. In particular, with 20 reference to Fig. I B, the steps of the described methods are effected by instructions in the software 133 that are carried out within the controller 102. The software instructions may be formed as one or more code modules, each for performing one or more particular tasks. The software may also be divided into two separate parts, in which a first part and the 3229137_1 970334_speci_lodge - 10 corresponding code modules performs the described methods and a second part and the corresponding code modules manage a user interface between the first part and the user. The software 133 of the embedded controller 102 is typically stored in the non volatile ROM 160 of the internal storage module 109. The software 133 stored in the 5 ROM 160 can be updated when required from a computer readable medium. The software 133 can be loaded into and executed by the processor 105. In some instances, the processor 105 may execute software instructions that are located in RAM 170. Software instructions may be loaded into the RAM 170 by the processor 105 initiating a copy of one or more code modules from ROM 160 into RAM 170. Alternatively, the software 10 instructions of one or more code modules may be pre-installed in a non-volatile region of RAM 170 by a manufacturer. After one or more code modules have been located in RAM 170, the processor 105 may execute software instructions of the one or more code modules. The application program 133 is typically pre-installed and stored in the ROM 160 15 by a manufacturer, prior to distribution of the electronic device 101. However, in some instances, the application programs 133 may be supplied to the user encoded on one or more CD-ROM (not shown) and read via the portable memory interface 106 of Fig. IA prior to storage in the internal storage module 109 or in the portable memory 125. In another alternative, the software application program 133 may be read by the processor 105 20 from the network 120, or loaded into the controller 102 or the portable storage medium 125 from other computer readable media. Computer readable storage media refers to any non transitory tangible storage medium that participates in providing instructions and/or data to the controller 102 for execution and/or processing. Examples of such storage media include floppy disks, magnetic tape, CD-ROM, a hard disk drive, a ROM or integrated 3229137_1 970334_specilodge - 11 circuit, USB memory, a magneto-optical disk, flash memory, or a computer readable card such as a PCMCIA card and the like, whether or not such devices are internal or external of the device 101. Examples of transitory or non-tangible computer readable transmission media that may also participate in the provision of software, application programs, 5 instructions and/or data to the device 101 include radio or infra-red transmission channels as well as a network connection to another computer or networked device, and the Internet or Intranets including e-mail transmissions and information recorded on Websites and the like. A computer readable medium having such software or computer program recorded on it is a computer program product. 10 The second part of the application programs 133 and the corresponding code modules mentioned above may be executed to implement one or more graphical user interfaces (GUIs) to be rendered or otherwise represented upon the display 114 of Fig. IA. Through manipulation of the user input device 113 (e.g., the keypad), a user of the device 101 and the application programs 133 may manipulate the interface in a functionally 15 adaptable manner to provide controlling commands and/or input to the applications associated with the GUI(s). Other forms of functionally adaptable user interfaces may also be implemented, such as an audio interface utilizing speech prompts output via loudspeakers (not illustrated) and user voice commands input via the microphone (not illustrated). 20 Fig. lB illustrates in detail the embedded controller 102 having the processor 105 for executing the application programs 133 and the internal storage 109. The internal storage 109 comprises read only memory (ROM) 160 and random access memory (RAM) 170. The processor 105 is able to execute the application programs 133 stored in one or both of the connected memories 160 and 170. When the electronic device 101 is 3229137_1 970334_specilodge - 12 initially powered up, a system program resident in the ROM 160 is executed. The application program 133 permanently stored in the ROM 160 is sometimes referred to as "firmware". Execution of the firmware by the processor 105 may fulfil various functions, including processor management, memory management, device management, storage 5 management and user interface. The processor 105 typically includes a number of functional modules including a control unit (CU) 151, an arithmetic logic unit (ALU) 152 and a local or internal memory comprising a set of registers 154 which typically contain atomic data elements 156, 157, along with internal buffer or cache memory 155. One or more internal buses 159 10 interconnect these functional modules. The processor 105 typically also has one or more interfaces 158 for communicating with external devices via system bus 181, using a connection 161. The application program 133 includes a sequence of instructions 162 though 163 that may include conditional branch and loop instructions. The program 133 may also 15 include data, which is used in execution of the program 133. This data may be stored as part of the instruction or in a separate location 164 within the ROM 160 or RAM 170. In general, the processor 105 is given a set of instructions, which are executed therein. This set of instructions may be organised into blocks, which perform specific tasks or handle specific events that occur in the electronic device 101. Typically, the application 20 program 133 waits for events and subsequently executes the block of code associated with that event. Events may be triggered in response to input from a user, via the user input devices 113 of Fig. IA, as detected by the processor 105. Events may also be triggered in response to other sensors and interfaces in the electronic device 101. 3229137_1 970334_speci_lodge - 13 The execution of a set of the instructions may require numeric variables to be read and modified. Such numeric variables are stored in the RAM 170. The disclosed method uses input variables 171 that are stored in known locations 172, 173 in the memory 170. The input variables 171 are processed to produce output variables 177 that are stored in 5 known locations 178, 179 in the memory 170. Intermediate variables 174 may be stored in additional memory locations in locations 175, 176 of the memory 170. Alternatively, some intermediate variables may only exist in the registers 154 of the processor 105. The execution of a sequence of instructions is achieved in the processor 105 by repeated application of a fetch-execute cycle. The control unit 151 of the processor 105 10 maintains a register called the program counter, which contains the address in ROM 160 or RAM 170 of the next instruction to be executed. At the start of the fetch execute cycle, the contents of the memory address indexed by the program counter is loaded into the control unit 151. The instruction thus loaded controls the subsequent operation of the processor 105, causing for example, data to be loaded from ROM memory 160 into 15 processor registers 154, the contents of a register to be arithmetically combined with the contents of another register, the contents of a register to be written to the location stored in another register and so on. At the end of the fetch execute cycle the program counter is updated to point to the next instruction in the system program code. Depending on the instruction just executed this may involve incrementing the address contained in the 20 program counter or loading the program counter with a new address in order to achieve a branch operation. Each step or sub-process in the processes of the methods described below is associated with one or more segments of the application program 133, and is performed by 3229137_1 970334_speci_lodge - 14 repeated execution of a fetch-execute cycle in the processor 105 or similar programmatic operation of other independent processor blocks in the electronic device 101. Some aspects of the user interface distribution methods to be described, may alternatively or additionally be performed by a stand-alone general purpose computer, such 5 as a server computer, having some features akin to the electronic device 101 but typically of more significant capacity and often formed by discrete and connectable electronic components. System Environment Fig. 2 illustrates a network-based real-time co-located collaboration system 200 10 within which the described arrangements are preferably implemented. The system 200 provides for using predominantly portable devices 201, such as digital cameras 202 and tablet devices 203, to execute user applications and to (each) display an associated user interface 403, seen in Fig. 4. The portable devices 201 may be formed in a manner akin to the electronic device 101 discussed above, each with one or more special functions, and are 15 generally characterised by relatively limited display sizes arising from portability of the devices 201. The display sizes may nevertheless vary amongst the devices based upon their general size and function. For example a digital camera may have a display of dimensions 3 x 3 cm, whereas a tablet computer may have a display of dimensions 200 x 150 mm. The portable devices 201 connect through a (first) local area wireless 20 network 204a to a (first) gateway 205a. The mobile devices 201 may connect directly to co-located mobile devices 208 on a peer-to-peer basis. Alternatively, the portable devices 201 may connect to a server 206 through the gateway 205a, which brokers communication between the co-located portable devices 201 and 208. Similarly, the portable devices 201 can alternatively or additionally communicate with other devices 209 3229137_1 970334_specilodge - 15 which are not co-located, but rather remote, by connecting to a wide area network 207, such as the Internet, through a (second) gateway 205b and an associated (second) local area network 204b. The connection to non-co-located (remote) devices 209 may also be on a peer-to-peer basis, or with the communication being brokered by the server 206. The 5 server 206 may be considered a "common" server 206 and as such has knowledge of all the devices (e.g. 202, 203, 208) connected to the network 204a. In the system 200, the individual devices, including the mobile devices 202, 203, 208, and 209, together with the server 206, may each be formed by a computer system generally similar to that shown in Figs IA and 1B. Notably particularly instances may 10 involve a scaled-down unitary implementation, but nevertheless having processing capability (e.g. 105, 106) together with user operable inputs (e.g. 102,103) and display (e.g. 114) by which a UI or GUI may be implemented. The Uls may be used to perform or assist with the performance of certain desired functions, such as capturing a photograph in the case of the camera 202, for example. As such, much of the functionality depicted in 15 Figs. IA and IB may be configured within embedded devices especially configured for a particular set of tasks, such as those associated with photographs in the case of the camera 202, as compared to general purpose computing. First Arrangement Fig. 3 depicts a method 300 of proximity-based user interface (UI) distribution 20 implementable within the networked portable devices system 200. However, the method 300 is not limited to the system described in Fig. 2 and can be implemented to execute on a hardware platform such as the computer system 100 of Figs. IA and 1 B, or on variations thereof. The method 300 uses co-located portable devices 201 (202,203,208) 3229137_1 970334_speci_lodge - 16 participating in a common activity to distribute the user interface across multiple ones of the devices 201 (202,203,208). A first step 310 of the method 300 involves the launching of a software application on a first device (e.g. the camera 202) and the creation of a collaboration session by a first 5 user of the first device 202. For example, the user may launch the software application by pressing or clicking a representative icon, menu item or similar on a GUI of the first device 202. Alternatively, the application may be launched automatically based on external factors, such as a predetermined time (enabled by a real-time clock integral to or accessible by the first device 202) and/or a physical location of the first device and thus its user (for 10 example enabled by a positioning system (e.g. GPS) integral to or accessible by the first device 202). Once the application has been launched, the user is prompted to create a collaboration session. A collaboration session in this context refers to a networked connection between two or more instances of the same application executing on separate or 15 distinct devices. The first device (e.g. 202) thus creates a collaboration which other users can subsequently join each by manipulating a respective device (e.g. 203, 208). In a preferred implementation, the collaboration session may be created by the application executing on the first device 202 establishing a connection to the common server 206. The first user then enters a unique collaboration name upon the first device 202 and publishes 20 the collaboration session under that name on the common server 206. Such publication can then be made available by the common server 206 to all devices currently connected to the local network 204a to which the collaboration initiating device 202 is connected. Alternatively, the collaboration session may be uniquely identified by one or a combination of the following: 3229137_1 970334_speci_lodge - 17 - the creating user; - location of creation; and - time of creation In an alternative or additional implementation, the first user may, via the 5 device 202, also directly invite other users and their corresponding devices to join the collaboration session. This may be done through the use of an address book or through a list of historical collaboration participants. In a next step 301 of the method 300, a user interface pertaining to an application being executed by processor of the first device (e.g. the camera 202) is displayed on the 10 first device 202. This involves the application laying out various user interface modules forming the user interface on a single display surface of a display (e.g. 114) of the device 202. This is described in detail later with reference to Figs. 4 and 5. In the next step 302, a second device (e.g. the tablet computer 203) then executes the same user interface application to lay out various user interface modules forming the 15 user interface on a single display surface of a display (e.g. 114) of the device 203. The second device 203 then joins the collaboration session with the first device 202 and, when joined, a collaboration session is created between the first device 202 and the second device 203. At step 303 which follows, the system determines whether the second device 203 is 20 within a predetermined proximity to the first device 202 to determine if the devices 202 and 203 are co-located. This is described later with reference to Fig. 6. If the devices 202 and 203 are not deemed to be co-located, the UI is replicated on the second device 304, meaning that the same but respective UI modules are independently displayed on each of the devices 202 and 203. 3229137_1 970334_speci_lodge -18 If however step 303 determines that the second device 203 is within the predetermined proximity, the second device 203 is deemed to be co-located with the first device 202, or vice versa. If the devices are deemed to be co-located, steps 305 - 309 are performed to redistribute UI modules between the first device 202 and the second 5 device203. At step 305, at least one characteristic, such as hardware capability, of the second device 203 is determined by examination of the device 203. This may be achieved by software examining the hardware setup of the device 203 as known in the computing arts. The characteristic may, for example, be of the display 114 of the second device 203, such 10 as size or resolution, or the processor power and speed, image capture ability including camera resolution, available input means, physical memory, and operating system software of the device 203. The characteristic may be additional peripheral functions, such as those selected from the group consisting of a digital compass, satellite navigation (GPS), and cellular data connectivity. 15 The determined characteristic is then used in step 306 to identify and select those UI module or modules that are most suitable for display on the second device 203. In step 307, the display of the selected UI module or modules is then disabled on the first device 202. The remaining UI modules of the first device 202, being those that are not disabled, are then in step 308 redistributed on the first device 202 in order to use the space 20 made available by the disabled UI modules and maximise the reproduction of the UI in the display area of the display 114 of the first device 202. Finally in step 304, the first device 202 communicates with the second device 203 to enable the display of the UI module or modules selected in step 306 on the display 114 3229137_1 970334_specilodge - 19 of the second device 203. Step 304 also involves disabling from the second device 203 the UI module or modules of the U! that remain displayed on the first device 202. Figs. 4 - 9 illustrate specific implementations in greater detail. Lay out Modules Comprising the User Interface 5 Step 301 of the method 300 involves laying out all modules comprising a user interface on the first device 202. This is illustrated in greater detail in Fig. 4 which shows 400 an application user interface (UI) 403, pertaining to a single application being executed on a portable device 401 (e.g. the camera 202), being displayed on display screen 402 of the device 401. Uls are generally composed of separate logically connected 10 components which encapsulate a distinct portion of functionality - herein referred to as UI modules. It will be appreciated form Fig. 4 that where the size of the display screen 402 is small, the simultaneous reproduction of each the modules 404, 405 and 406 thereon may result in those modules and their content being so small as to be difficult to effectively utilize or operate. As such the display screen 402 is of a relatively limited size. This may 15 be in contrast to a desktop computer which may have a large display screen (e.g. 17 inch, approximately 350 x 300 mm) where all modules may be displayed in sufficient size and detail to be readily usable. The UI modules are logical components of the UI as they encapsulate distinct functionality and have a defined interface to other U! components in terms of the data that 20 passes between the modules and the functionality that that a particular module provides to the application. Furthermore, U! modules usually encapsulate several basic U1 components, such as buttons and text input fields. Thus, a UI module may be defined by the following characteristics: (i) a clearly defined data interface; 3229137_1 970334_speci_lodge -20 (ii) an ability to provide a specific functionality to the rest of the application; and (iii) encapsulates a number of smaller UI components. Fig. 5 illustrates an example of a UI module 500. For illustrative purposes, the 5 function of the example application illustrated in Fig. 5 is to allow a user to communicate with other users by entering a message, and having that message and the messages of other users displayed on the display screen. The physical features of the particular device implementing the UI module 500 have been omitted from Fig. 5 for clarity. The messages (Message text 1, Message text 2, Message text 3) are displayed in a message display 10 area 506, and new messages (New Text) can be entered by a user of the device into appear in a text box 504. The new messages can be sent or transmitted by selecting or depressing a graphical button 505. It this example the UI can be logically partitioned into two UI modules 502 and 503. The first UI module 502 is used to display received or transmitted text, whereas the second Ul module 503 is used to enter and send text. Taking the second 15 UI module 503 as an example it can be seen how the module 503 meets the requirements, mentioned above, for classification as a UI module, namely: (a) Data interface - the module 503 operates to send message text and incorporates user commands (button press command 505) to the application; (b) Functionality - the module 503 allows a user to enter in and send a 20 text message (c) Encapsulation of UI components - the module 503 comprises text box 504 and a button 505 Returning to Fig. 4, the example application user interface 403 as illustrated includes three distinct UI modules 404 - 406. The UI may be formed using any number of 3229137_1 970334_speci_lodge -21 UI modules, and three is only used as an example in this instance. In order to display the entire application UI 403, all three UI modules 404 - 406 constituting the user interface need to be laid out on the device screen 402. Thus, all the UI modules 404 - 406 are displayed on a first device 401. 5 Determine Proximity of Second Device The second portable device 203 executes the same application as the first device 201, and joins the same collaboration session in step 302. A user of the second device 203, when advised of the existence of a corresponding session on anther device (e.g. the first device 202), can then elect to join that (collaboration) session with the first 10 device 302. The user may join the collaboration session by accepting an explicit invitation issued by the user of the first device 202 in step 310. This invitation may either be issued through the application itself or as a link from an electronic means of communication such as an email. The system 200 then determines in step 303 whether the second device 203 is 15 deemed to be in proximity to the first device 202. This is carried out in order to determine whether the devices are co-located. Fig 12 illustrates the preferred method 1200 for determining the proximity of devices. The method 1200 is desirably executed by the common server 206 which monitors and thus has knowledge of devices coupled to the WLAN 204a and which are thus likely to be proximate. However, the method 1200 may 20 be performed by some central device (such as a remote server) such that all devices have a communication link to either the common server 206 or another device which acts as a master in a peer-to-peer system, as determined at step 1201. In a specific implementation, the application uses a Global Positioning System (GPS) or Assisted GPS (A-GPS) to determine the geographic positioning (geo co-ordinates) of the portable device upon which 3229137_1 970334_speci_lodge - 22 the application is executing. The application sends updated geographical co-ordinates to the common server 206 only when it detects that the device has moved significantly, as determined at step 1202. This may be accomplished by periodically sampling the GPS co ordinates and comparing current co-ordinate value to the previous co-ordinate value sent to 5 the common server 206. If the difference between the values is greater than a predetermined threshold, the device is deemed to have moved significantly and the new or current GPS coordinates are sent to the common server 206 in step 1203. The GPS coordinates are only sent to the common server 206 or central device when the portable device is deemed to have moved significantly in order to minimise the data needed to be 10 transmitted over the communication link (e.g. the WLAN 204a). Once a portable device has updated its GPS coordinates on the central device or common server 206, the central device then in step 1204 compares the GPS coordinates of the first device 202 to the GPS coordinates of all other devices (e.g. 203, 208) in the same collaboration session. The method 1200 then compares the difference of the respective 15 devices' absolute GPS coordinates to a predetermined threshold in step 1205. If the difference is less than the threshold, the portable devices are deemed to be in proximity at step 1206. If the difference is greater than the predetermined threshold, the portable devices are deemed not to be in proximity in step 1207. In alternative implementations, the relative proximity may be determined through 20 the presence of physical communication links, such as by the devices present on the same Wi-Fi network, or by the devices communicating point-to-point using Bluetooth connections. Fig. 6 illustrates the process of UI module redistribution for co-located portable devices. The proximity in this context refers to physical relative distance between two portable devices 401 and 602, and by implication, the users from each other. If the 3229137_1 970334_speci_lodge -23 relative distance between the two devices 401 and 602 is below a certain predetermined proximity threshold 604, the devices are deemed to be co-located. The proximity threshold 604 can be set or determined in a number of ways, none of which are intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. One simple approach is to manually set a 5 predetermined proximity threshold 604. This may be done either by the user, upon launch of the application, or by the manufacturer of the application. The proximity threshold 604 may thus be set in terms of an absolute physical distance, e.g. metres. An alternative method for determining the value of the proximity threshold 604 is to dynamically determine a value based on external factors. These could be factors such as the type of 10 application or task being carried out, the location or number of the users (for example reduce proximity threshold in crowded or noisy environments) and the rate of change of the user's/device location, as discussed above with reference to Fig. 12. Other methods for determining device proximity can be based on external factors, such as deeming devices to be in proximity if they are connected to the same local area wireless network 204. 15 Fig. 6 illustrates the concept of determining the relative proximity of devices in greater detail. If a second device 602 is a longer physical distance from the first device 401 than that specified by the proximity threshold 604, the devices 401 and 602 are deemed to be not co-located. In this case the UI modules 605 present on the first device 401, and required for the execution of the application, are displayed according to step 304 on the 20 second device 606 in their original configuration as caused solely through respective operation of the application Uls. If the first device 401 and the second device 602 are at a separation distance less than the proximity threshold 604 from one another, they are deemed to be co-located. In 3229137_1 970334_speci-lodge - 24 that case the UI components are redistributed between the first device 401 and the second device 602 according to steps 305 - 309. Determine UI Module(s) for Distribution Once one or more devices 401 - 602 have been deemed to be co-located, the 5 method 300 determines if any UI modules, and which UI modules, are to be redistributed between the devices 401, 602. The first step is to determine at least one characteristic of the second device 602 in order to determine which UI modules are best suited for redistribution to that device 602, according to step 305. A characteristic maybe be physical (for example defined by hardware, such as screen size and resolution), logical (for example 10 software such as an operating system of one device that offers a feature applicable to a UI module not available on another device) or based on temporal factors such as environmental conditions (for example in very cold weather during which a user might be expected to wear gloves, distribution of a touch screen activated UI module may be problematic, whereas a simply display UI module may be more appropriate). Preferred 15 implementations described herein are with respect to hardware characteristics. Some exemplary hardware characteristics which may be taken into account include: - screen size; - screen resolution; - processor speed; 20 - memory; and - user input methods (e.g. touch screen, keyboard, stylus, etc.). For the purposes of the illustration and according to a specific implementation, screen resolution of the device is chosen as the determinant device characteristic used in step 305. From Fig. 6 it can be seen that the first device 401 is a portable device with a 3229137_1 970334_speci_lodge - 25 relatively small screen 605 (for example a pocket digital camera). The second device 602 is a portable device with a substantially larger screen 608 (for example a tablet computer). Fig. 7 shows a table 700 of display characteristics 701 that compares the screen resolution 703 of the respective devices 702. The values illustrated in Fig. 7 reflect 5 commonly used screen resolutions in portable devices. From the table 701, it can be seen that the first device 401 has a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels, which is significantly lower than that of the second device 602, namely 640 x 480 pixels. Thus, it can be concluded that the second portable device 602 has a superior display resolution over the first portable device 401. 10 Once at least one characteristic of the second device 602 has been identified, the method 300 proceeds to step 306 to determine the most suitable module or modules for redistribution 607 to the second device 602. Having identified a characteristic of both devices, namely the screen resolution, the redistribution of UI modules is carried out so as to maximise the benefit to the user. This means that each UI module is displayed on the 15 device which is best suited to displaying that UI module. Taking the application UI 403 as an example, Fig. 8 shows a table 800 that maps the benefits of displaying each UI module in relation to the identified characteristic. The table 800 lists the benefits that would be gained from the display of each module on a device with increased capabilities of the identified characteristic, namely; screen resolution 803. From the table 800, it can be seen 20 that UI module 1 404 is identified as standing a high benefit from display on a high resolution screen. This is due to the fact that UI module 1 404 is the largest UI module in the application user interface and, as a result, is likely to be the most complex. UI module complexity for present purposes can be measured using the two following metrics: 3229137_1 970334_speci_lodge -26 (i) U! component count - the number of individual U! components displayed within the UI module; and (ii) User input complexity - the type of user inputs and manipulation that are handled by the UI module. 5 UI module 2 405 and UI module 3 406 are both rated as having a low potential benefit from being displayed on a higher resolution display. Thus, UI module 1 404 is chosen for redistribution 607 to the second portable device 602. The final step 307 of the process 300 in this example is to disable display of the U! module 1 404 chosen for redistribution from the first device 401 and enable its display on 10 the second device 602 according to step 309. Fig. 6 also illustrates the step of disabling 605 the UI module 1 404 chosen for display on the second device 602. The disabling of the display of the Ul module involves disabling user interaction with the module and hiding it from the screen, as depicted at 605. The next step is reconfiguring and adjusting of the display on the first device 401 to optimise the display of the remaining 15 UI modules in light of the areas of the display made available after hiding the disabled U! modules. This is illustrated in Fig. 9A which shows the portable first device 401, where the Ul module 1 404 is released by being disabled, hidden or otherwise removed from the display, and the remaining U! module 2 405 and U! module 3 406 are resized and displayed as larger modules 902 and 903 respectively over the reminder of the screen real estate. 20 Also seen in Fig. 9B is the tablet computer second device 602 which includes the thereby redistributed U! module 1 403 resized and displayed as a larger module 903. Dynamic Redistribution of UI Modules The determination of proximity of one device to another performed at step 303 is desirably carried out dynamically. Thus, if one device moves out of proximity, the user 3229137_1 970334_speci_lodge -27 interface is dynamically reconfigured to redistribute the user interface modules appropriately. Fig. 10 illustrates this concept. In Fig. 6 the user interface modules are distributed amongst the two co-located devices 401 and 602. Fig. 10 illustrates the case where a portable device, in this case the larger device 602, moves outside the proximity 5 threshold 1004. Once the device 602 has been detected as being outside of proximity in relation to the proximity threshold 1004, the application user interface 403 is redistributed amongst the remaining co-located devices remaining within the proximity threshold 1004. As in this example, only one device remains within the threshold, being the device 401, and so the full application UI 403 is displayed 1003 on the first device 401. Similarly, 10 since the second device 602 is outside the proximity threshold, the entire application UI 403 is displayed 1005 on the second device 602. This allows the users of both devices to continue to interact with the application, even when not co-located. Note in this example, by virtue of the different screen sizes and orientation, the display 1005 of the UI 403 is rearranged compared to the presentation 1003 on the first device 401, whilst maintaining 15 the same UI modules as displayed and thus the same functionality. Security Level Based on Proximity Returning to Fig. 6, the devices deemed to be co-located 401 and 602 may be assigned different security privileges within the collaboration session compared with those devices 603 which are deemed not to be co-located. There is likely to be a higher level of 20 trust and communication between physically co-located users participating in a collaboration session. As a result, the security level of the various applications and the types of user interface modules displayed may be varied across the devices, 401, 602 and 603. 3229137_1 970334_specilodge - 28 In terms of the security level or the user access rights for the application, devices deemed to be in proximity, such as devices 401 and 602 are generally granted higher user privileges than devices 603 which are not deemed to be co-located. The types of security privileges described herein are merely given as examples. For example, devices not 5 deemed to be co-located may not be given the following privileges: (i) editing of group artefacts; (ii) deletion of group artefacts; and (iii) starting and closing collaboration session. As such, where a user and associated portable device moves into proximity, one or 10 more of those privileges may be activated. Such an arrangement lends itself to multiple proximity thresholds (eg. 5 metres, 10 metres, 50 metres) so that, for example, as a (new) user approaches other users, at 50 meters the new user is invited to join the collaboration session, and at 10 metres (where voice communication is expected to be relatively comfortable) the edit privilege could be enabled, and at 5 metres (where voice 15 communication is likely to be easy and expected) the deletion privilege could be enabled. Finally, devices which are co-located may have their corresponding application user interface 403 configured differently to devices which are not co-located. The fact that users are co-located means that they have an available medium for communication (e.g. atmosphere for voice, or telecommunications). As a result, UI modules such as 20 communication modules may be disabled altogether for the co-located group. An example of this would be chat and notifications modules, which would not be required for co located user groups. This serves to maximise the effective screen real estate by disabling unnecessary user interface modules. 3229137_1 970334_specilodge - 29 In this description, in view of the distribution of the user interface modules, the concept of proximity between portable devices and their corresponding users predicates the existence of a communication channel between the users. Such a communication channel generally overlies the distributed user interface or the application with which the user 5 interface is associated. Typically that communication channel will be direct spoken communications between the users by which they collectively manage their respective use of the distributed modules of the user interface. Often the users could be in a side-by-side relationship (in a small room for example), or distributed about some location (such as around a building site where the user interface is being operated to record details of a 10 building inspection being conducted by the users). In such an instance, the spoken communication channel may be transient, just as it may be in a small room. The communication channel could also be supplemented by additional effort (yelling or calling out to one another) or artificial means such as through the use of (mobile) telephone handsets or electronic messaging (e.g. email) so that the collaborating users may maintain 15 management of use of the distributed components of the single user interface being operated upon their respective devices. The security levels may be enforced in a tiered fashion. Fig. 11 illustrates the situation where there are multiple co-located groups of devices 1101 - 1103 participating in a common collaboration session. Each co-located group may enforce local security 20 levels for its member devices (e.g. 1111, 1112, 1113, 1114), while still having differing security levels operating between the co-located groups (e.g. 1101, 1102, 1103). Finally, one co-located group (e.g. 1101) may be designated as a "supergroup", which would have higher security privileges than other co-located groups 1102, 1103. The supergroup 1101 may be assigned based on a number of parameters, such as number of devices within group 3229137_1 970334_speci_lodge -30 or the location of the origination device of the collaboration session. In this case the group 1101 is designated as the supergroup as it contains the highest number of devices. In this example, devices in co-located group 1101 would have higher security privileges than devices in the other two co-located groups 1102 - 1103. This is an example of a tiered 5 security level system. The supergroup 1101 thus has higher access privileges than the other groups and as a result can control the collaboration session. This may be done, for example, through higher deletion or editing rights. This is often desirable in a large collaboration session to ensure effective change brokering of artefacts. INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY 10 The arrangements described are applicable to the computer and data processing industries and particularly for the implementation of user interactive or collaborative computing. Particularly, according to the described arrangements each user, regardless of the particular device being operated, operates their device to implement the same user interface, and by which individual component modules of that same user interface are 15 distributed amongst the collaborative users. When collaboration ceases, for example by a user departing from proximity, the distribution with the departing users' device ceases and the departing user sees the entire user interface, and the remaining collaborating users have the modules distributed amongst their respective devices. One example application of the present arrangements may be where a number of 20 persons meet at a location (e.g. a zoo) and desired to generate and create a photo album of images captured by them during their visit at the location. The location may for example have its own public Wi-Fi network to which the persons can connect and maintain some level of interactivity. A collaboration session may be commenced upon entry to the zoo with each user device executing the same photo album application into which photographs 3229137_1 970334_specijodge - 31 captured by the user device are inserted to generate the photo album. The user devices may include, for example, one or more cameras, mobile cellular telephone handsets, tablet computers and PDAs. The modules of the user interface of the photo album application are distributed amongst the persons where they are proximate. Thus, upon entry as a group, 5 the modules may be distributed amongst all devices of the group. However, as one or more of the group disperses around the zoo, for example to capture images of the animals, proximity may be lost and those persons may be removed from collaboration. For example, collaboration between any of the persons may be lost, re-acquired, and lost again throughout the course of the visit to the zoo. Upon reuniting of the persons (over lunch for 10 example), collaboration of all may again be obtained and Ul modules once again distributed. Thus any images captured via any of the user devices may be shared via the UI modules so that the various users may then edit and update the photo album with desired photos captured by one or more of the group of persons. The user devices therefore act as a source of images for the photo album. Stock images (i.e. not captured by the users) may 15 also be added to the album via Wi-Fi access to a database source of images offered by the zoo, for example. Further, whilst the devices described above are portable, and the arrangements find exemplary application upon such portable devices, one or more of the devices may be fixed or static, such as a desktop computer. Such may be applicable where the persons 20 congregate in a room where the desktop computer resides with a corresponding user, and other users have portable devices with limited display capacity. UI modules of the one application may nevertheless be distributed amongst all devices in the room for performance of a common task (such as the final editing of the photo album commenced at 3229137_1 970334_speci_lodge - 32 the zoo). The desktop computer may be in wired (Ethernet) connection to a common server, to which the other devices are in wireless connection. The foregoing describes only some embodiments of the present invention, and modifications and/or changes can be made thereto without departing from the scope and 5 spirit of the invention, the embodiments being illustrative and not restrictive. (Australia Only) In the context of this specification, the word "comprising" means "including principally but not necessarily solely" or "having" or "including", and not "consisting only of". Variations of the word "comprising", such as "comprise" and "comprises" have correspondingly varied meanings. 10 3229137_1 970334_speci lodge

Claims (15)

1. A method of distributing user interface functionality across a plurality of display devices, said method comprising: 5 providing the user interface on a first display device, said user interface including a plurality of user interface modules which together provide the user interface functionality; determining at least one characteristic of at least one second display device when said second display device is within a predetermined proximity of the first display device; selecting at least one user interface module to be displayed on the second display 10 device based on the determined characteristic of the second display device; disabling display of the selected user interface module on the first display device; adjusting the display of the user interface modules remaining on the first display device so as to use at least a part of the first display released by disabling display of the selected user interface module on the first display device; and 15 the first display device communicating with the second display device to enable the second display device to display the selected user interface module, thereby distributing the user interface functionality across the first and second display devices.

2. A method according to claim I wherein the characteristic of the second display 20 device is selected from the group consisting of: (i) a display size of the second display device; (ii) processing power associated with the second display device; (iii) a display resolution of the second display device; (iv) physical memory of the second display device; 3229137_1 970334_specilodge -34 (v) software executing on the second display device; (vi) image capture ability available on the second device; (vii) camera resolution of the second device; and (viii) presence of additional peripheral functions on second device. 5

3. A method according to claim 2 wherein the additional peripheral functions are selected from the group consisting of digital compass, satellite navigation, and cellular data connectivity. 10

4. A method according to claim 2 wherein the software comprises an operating system executing on the second display device.

5. A method according to claim I wherein communication between the first display device and the second display device is via at least one of a direct wireless link, an indirect 15 wireless link, and an indirect wired link via a network server.

6. A method according to claim I further comprising establishing security level and/or user rights based on a proximity between the first device and the second device, the established rights limiting the interface functionality distributed to the second display 20 device.

7. A method according to claim I wherein the selecting step comprises examining characteristics of the user interface modules to select at least one user interface module for display on the second display device. 3229137_1 970334_specilodge - 35

8. A system for generating a photo album, said system comprising: a plurality of computerized devices each having a corresponding display upon which a user interface associated with an photo album application executable by each of 5 the devices can be reproduced, the user interface having a plurality of modules by which functionality of the user interface is reproduced upon the displays, at least one of the devices having a relatively limited display size; a collaboration process operable upon a predetermined proximity between at least two of the devices to establish a collaboration session associated with an instance of the 10 application and associated user interface operating upon the at least two devices; a source of images accessible by the two devices when the collaboration session is established; and a distribution process operable when the collaboration session is established for: determining at least one characteristic of at least one first computerized 15 device when said first computerized device is within a predetermined proximity of a second said computerized device; selecting at least one module of the plurality of modules of the user interface to be displayed on the first computerized device based on the determined characteristic of the first computerized device; 20 disabling display of the selected user interface module on the second computerized device; and adjusting the display of the user interface modules remaining on the second computerized device so as to use at least a part of the display released by disabling display of the selected user interface module on the second display device; 3229137_1 970334_specilodge -36 wherein the second computerized device communicates with the first computerized device to enable the first computerized device to display the selected user interface module, thereby distributing the user interface functionality across the first and second computerized devices; 5 and the photo album application responds to commands input by one or both of the first and second computerized devices to display images from the source in the distributed user interface modules.

9. A system according to claim 7 wherein at least one of the computerized devices 10 comprises a camera, said camera operating as at least part of the source of images.

10. An electronic device having a processor, a memory, a display, a user interface application recorded in the memory and executable by the processor, and a distribution application recorded in the memory and executable by the memory for distributing 15 functionality of the user interface application across a plurality of display devices including the electronic device, said distribution application comprising: code for providing the user interface on the electronic device, said user interface including a plurality of user interface modules which together provide the user interface functionality; 20 code for determining at least one characteristic of at least one said display device when said one display device is within a predetermined proximity of the electronic device; code for selecting at least one user interface module to be displayed on the one display device based on the determined characteristic of the one display device; 3229137_1 970334_speci_lodge - 37 code for disabling display of the selected user interface module on the electronic device; code for adjusting the display of the user interface modules remaining on the electronic device so as to use at least a part of the display released by disabling display of 5 the selected user interface module on the electronic device; and code for communicating between the electronic device and the one display device to enable the one display device to display the selected user interface module, thereby distributing the user interface functionality across the electronic device and the one display device. 10

11. An electronic device according to claim 10 wherein the device is selected from the group consisting of a digital camera, a tablet computer, a personal digital assistant, and notebook computer, and a desktop computer. 15

12. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having a program recorded thereon, the program being executable by computerised apparatus to distribute functionality of a user interface across a plurality of display devices, said program comprising: code for providing the user interface on a first display device, said user interface including a plurality of user interface modules which together provide the user interface 20 functionality; code for determining at least one characteristic of at least one second display device when said second display device is within a predetermined proximity of the first display device; 3229137_1 970334_specilodge - 38 code for selecting at least one user interface module to be displayed on the second display device based on the determined characteristic of the second display device; code for disabling display of the selected user interface module on the first display device; 5 code for adjusting the display of the user interface modules remaining on the first display device so as to use at least a part of the first display released by disabling display of the selected user interface module on the first display device; and code for communicating between the first display device and the second display device to enable the second display device to display the selected user interface module, 10 thereby distributing the user interface functionality across the first and second display devices.

13. A method of distributing functionality of a user interface across a plurality of display devices, said method being substantially as described herein with reference to any 15 one of the embodiments as that embodiment is illustrated in the drawings.

14. A program for distributing functionality of a user interface across a plurality of display devices, said program being substantially as described herein with reference to any one of the embodiments as that embodiment is illustrated in the drawings. 20

15. An electronic display device having a display with a relatively limited display size, the device being adapted to distribute functionality of a user interface executable on the device across a plurality of display devices including the display device, said display device 3229137_1 970334_speci_lodge - 39 being substantially as described herein with reference to any one of the embodiments as that embodiment is illustrated in the drawings. Dated this 2 0 'h day of December 2010 5 CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA Patent Attorneys for the Applicant Spruson&Ferguson 3229137_1 970334_speci lodge