US 2,004,031,058 · Filed 2003-05-08
The Patent Behind Multi-Screen Browsing That Never Got Its Day
Imagine controlling what shows up on your phone, tablet, and laptop all at the same time — like having a conductor orchestrating which content goes where. This patent describes the system for making multiple screens work together as one unified experience, letting you choose which resource appears on which device.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a method and apparatus for managing how digital resources (web pages, documents, media) are displayed across multiple coordinated devices simultaneously. What's protected here is the ability for a user or content author to control which content streams to which device, and to coordinate browsing activity across those separate screens in a synchronized way. The system allows these devices to be either integrated or completely independent.
Why it matters
This patent tackles a problem that became increasingly relevant as households began owning multiple screens — phones, tablets, computers, smart TVs. The core insight is about coordination: not just showing the same thing everywhere, but intelligently routing different content to different devices based on user intention or author design. While multi-screen experiences are common today, this early patent represents an attempt to formalize and protect the underlying architecture of that coordination.
Real-world use
When you're streaming a movie on your TV while checking your phone for movie reviews, or displaying a presentation on your monitor while showing speaker notes on your tablet — you're benefiting from exactly the kind of multi-device orchestration this patent describes.
Original USPTO abstract
Systems and methods for navigating hypermedia using multiple coordinated input/output device sets. Disclosed systems and methods allow a user and/or an author to control what resources are presented on which device sets (whether they are integrated or not), and provide for coordinating browsing activities to enable such a user interface to be employed across multiple independent systems. Disclosed systems and methods also support new and enriched aspects and applications of hypermedia browsing and related business activities.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 2,004,031,058
- Filing date
- 2003-05-08
- Grant date
- Application — not yet granted
- Assignee
- Richard Reisman
- Inventor(s)
- REISMAN RICHARD
- CPC class
- G06F16/954
Want to file your own patent?
If you're designing an app or service that spans multiple screens, check our free patent scanner to see what's already protected in the multi-device interaction space.
Free patentability scanRelated patents in this cluster
- US 5,892,900: Systems and methods for secure transaction management and electronic rights protection
- US 6,177,931: Systems and methods for displaying and recording control interface with television programs, video, advertising information and program scheduling information
- US 6,850,252: Intelligent electronic appliance system and method
- US 2,003,229,900: Method and apparatus for browsing using multiple coordinated device sets