International Business Machines Corporation

Nathan J Lee

Peruvemba S Balasubramanian

Scott Douglas Lekuch

David Frederick Bantz

Daniel M Gruen

Lorraine M Herger

Ponani S Gopalakrishnan

Dennis Gerard Shea

Marisa S Viveros

Richard F Sapper

Christopher Dane Jones

Samuel A Lucente

Frank P Novak

Kyriakos L Leontiades

Krishnamurthi Kannan

Vikram Sharma

Steven R Carlough

Craig Raymond Walters

Chatschik Bisdikian

Daby Mousse Sow

Kiyoshi Maruyama

Stefan Berger

Mahmoud Naghshineh

Veronique Perret

Shun-Shing Chan

Adrian O Robinson

Amy S Purdy

Scott M Blackledge

A virtual workspace is provided for a user with a number of electronic devices, in which information can be exchanged among the electronic devices through a number of connections between the electronic devices. The virtual workspace is provided by determining where services are located and the type of the services, determining one or more data formats associated with data accessible by one or more of the electronic devices. A portion of the data has a given one of one or more data formats. An electronic device is selected based at least in part on predetermined criteria and the given data format. A route through the connections to the selected electronic device is determined, where the route may comprise a given one or more of the connections. At least the portion of the data associated with the given data format is routed to the selected electronic device. The portion of the data is utilizable for presentation by the selected electronic device when received by the selected electronic device.

Techniques for providing a virtual workspace comprised of a multiplicity of electronic devices

The present invention provides methods and apparatus to protect user privacy while accessing information in public places, using both public and personal devices. This is achieved by employing a mechanism that prevents private information from being displayed on public devices. Instead, this type of information is made available only to a user's personal device(s) that the user carries and/or trusts. An example embodiment of the invention shows relevant parts of the information content, referred to also as information documents or simply documents, to multiple devices based on privacy level and user preferences. Embodiments of the present invention also provide personalized services based on privacy levels defined by users. These users can for example be customers of a retail store. The service provided is sometimes also based on user history of accessing information documents. It permits personalized information to be sent to a customer's personal device.

Information content distribution based on privacy and/or personal information

In a connection arrangement including two or more electronic devices, wherein information can be exchanged among the electronic devices through a plurality of communication links between the electronic devices, at least one of the electronic devices being configurable for communicating with a data source, a method for presenting a multi-channel message originating from the data source, the multi-channel message including a two or more components, includes the steps of allocating each of at least a portion of the components in the multi-channel message to at least one electronic device and, for each allocated component, determining possible communication paths between the data source and the at least one electronic device allocated to the corresponding component. The method further includes the steps of selecting, based at least in part on one or more selection criteria, at least one of the possible communication paths for the allocated components, each of the selected communication paths representing an optimal route between the data source and the at least one electronic device allocated to the corresponding component, and routing each of the allocated components in the multi-channel message according to the selected communication paths for presentation of the allocated components by the corresponding electronic device(s).

Electronic device connection resource management

A digital camera supplies images to a first computer of a network via a receiver which is enabled as a bridge for Bluetooth, wireless LAN and infrared transmission from a digital camera. Once a digital camera is registered in a computer system, transmissions from the camera can be transmitted to the receiving first computer and thereafter transferred over the network for creation of a multi-media file which can be viewed at a private network or Internet accessible second computer.

Process of operations with an interchangeable transmission device and apparatus for use therein for a common interface for use with digital cameras

The packet network phone unit is an interface between a telephone instrument and a packet network for enabling voice data to be communicated over the packet network. The unit also functions as a gateway between a packet network and a public switched telephone network, thereby interconnecting the networks and providing a public switched telephone network gateway to a packet network. When power is not supplied to the unit, a fallback switch automatically links the telephone instrument directly to the public switched network, bypassing the circuitry in the unit. The unit includes links to a plurality of external serial communications lines as well as an interface for connecting to a personal computer. The unit also includes an LCD driver and a display for displaying information such as a caller identification. The packet network phone unit also may function an answering machine/messaging system.

Packet network telephone interface system for POTS

Biphase or FM encoding is combined with Flash modulation in infrared (IR) communication. By shrinking the coded pulse width in the modulation process, power dissipation is effectively reduced to the point where FM encoding can be advantageously adapted to IR communication in a synchronous communication system. Noise filtering is also described.

IR FM modem with flash modulation

A modulation scheme and system, compatible with both the asynchronous IRDA mode and the synchronous mode of IR communication, involves Non-Return-to-Zero-Inverted (NRZI) and Flash pulse encoding in conjunction with zero-bit stuffing. A digital data stream has a zero-bit inserted therein, before NRZI format encoding, whenever five consecutive one's are detected in the stream to enable the controller to distinguish the data from flags, which are exempt from the zero-bit insertion, and to provide enough transitions in the data so that the demodulator's digital phase lock loop can stay locked independent of the data contents. A Flash pulse (of from 3/16 to 8/16 of bit cell width, depending on the data rate) is generated whenever a transition is detected in the NRZI formatted data. The result, in keeping with IRDA modulation, is that a Flash pulse is generated whenever a zero occurs in the data stream. On the demodulation side, whenever a Flash pulse is received, the level of the receive line is toggled resulting in an output in NRZI format. Using this modulation scheme with a serial controller which supports NRZI and bit-stuffing, a system may be constructed that uses the controller's phase lock loop to send and receive data synchronously.

Flash NRZI infrared modem

A pen-based computer including a housing and a flat display integral therewith. The flat display can display an image corresponding to text, data and graphic information in several orientations. A plurality of switches enables the user to select an orientation for the image relative to the orientation of the flat display. In one embodiment the switches are mercury switches positioned to automatically align the orientation of the image relative to motion of the flat panel display relative to the force of gravity. An optional additional switch resets the orientation of the image to a predetermined orientation or prevents the reorientation of the image responsive to the mercury switches.

Rotatable pen-based computer with automatically reorienting display

A directed infrared (IR) communication controller which supports interoperability among protocols and which can communicate at baud rates of up to 2.34 Mbps while supporting the IRDA standard as well as Sharp's 500 KHz ASK, NRZI, and Biphase modulated IR systems. A method for automatically determining which type of infrared signal is being received is also described.

Multiprotocol directed infrared communication controller

Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK) modulation system and method with an ASK demodulator that is implemented with an analog-emulating digital bandpass filter. The bandpass filter also generates a carrier detect signal when it detects a carrier frequency that passes the filter pass band.

ASK demodulator implemented with digital bandpass filter

A system and method for managing power in a portable, pen-based notebook computer. The system and method provides for minimizing power consumption by collecting and interpreting power related data of various processing elements while hiding many of the details from the end-user. The system monitors, collects, and acts upon power-related data in a portable computer to maximize the amount of time the portable computer can be used between battery re-charging with minimal user intervention. The system has a plurality of independently controllable power planes which are selectively powered so that the portable computer consumes the minimum power necessary to perform a particular function and a plurality of central processing units (CPUs) operating asynchronously with respect to each other. The present invention is further comprised of an on/off glue logic for monitoring battery condition, user invoked functions, and system state and power management for controlling the operation of each of the CPUs as a function of the conditions sensed.

System for distributed power management in portable computers

A pen-based computer includes a housing and a flat panel display integral therewith. The computer housing has a slanted parallelpiped configuration with polyhedron-shaped top and bottom surfaces and parallelogram-shaped side and end surfaces interconnecting the top and bottom surfaces. The side and end surfaces of the housing include one adjacent side and end surface having an upward exposure, and another adjacent side and end surface having a downward exposure, with each of the side and end surfaces extending at an angle of between about 10 and 45 degrees from the top surface to the bottom surface. The flat panel display for the computer is mounted proximate to the top surface of the housing proximate one corner, and the bottom surface of the housing is designed to be supported on a horizontal support surface. The computer housing has a configuration which enables a right-handed user to orient the housing in at least one orientation such that the upwardly facing side and end surfaces are located along the right side and upper or lower ends of the housing to enable the right-handed user to comfortably use the computer, and to enable a left-handed user to orient the housing in at least one other orientation such that the upwardly facing side and end surfaces are located along the left side and upper or lower ends of the housing to enable a left-handed user to easily grasp and utilize the computer. A switch enables the user to correctly align text, data and graphic information on the flat panel display with the particular orientation of the computer.

Rotatable pen-based computer

A provides a system and method for managing power in a portable, pen-based notebook computer. The system and method provides a means for minimizing power consumption by collecting and interpreting power related data of various processing elements while hiding many of the details from the end-user. The system monitors, collects, and acts, upon power-related data in a portable computer to maximize the amount of time the portable computer can be used between battery re-charging with minimal user intervention. The system has a plurality of independently controllable power planes and a plurality of central processing units (CPUs) operating asynchronously with respect to each other. The present invention is further comprised of an on/off glue logic means for monitoring battery condition, user invoked functions, and system state and a power management means for controlling the operation of each of the CPUs as a function of the conditions sensed by a sensing means.

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New City, NY, United States of America

Nathan J Lee