Author: claimsbot

1. A device comprising:
a housing; and
at least one intuitive control element, the intuitive control element capable of actuation by a person, the intuitive control element shaped in the form of, or positioned on a location of the housing corresponding to,
at least one ear for controlling an audio function, andor
at least one eye for controlling a video function.
2. The device as in claim 1 embodied in the housing of a man-machine interface, wherein the machine interface controls at least a video system separate from the housing of the device.
3. The device as in claim 2, wherein said video system is selected from the group consisting of televisions, DVD players andor recorders, digital video recorder system, video cassette players andor recorders, automotivemarine video systems, airplane video systems, and video game systems.
4. The device as in claim 1 embodied in the housing of a man-machine interface, wherein the machine interface controls at least an audio system separate from the housing of the device.
5. The man-machine interface device as in claim 4, wherein said audio system is selected from the group consisting of home audio systems, mini audio systems, portable audio systems, automotivemarine audio systems, computer audio systems, and airplane audio systems.
6. The device as in claim 1 embodied in the housing of a man-machine interface, wherein the machine interface controls at least a computer system separate from the housing of the device.
7. The device as in claim 1 embodied in the housing of a man-machine interface, wherein the machine interface controls at least an appliance separate from the housing of the device.
8. The device as in claim 1 wherein the device comprises a video system and wherein the at least one intuitive control element is positioned on the housing of the video system and controls the audio function andor the video function of the video system.
9. The device as in claim 8, wherein said video system is selected from the group consisting of televisions, video monitors, DVD players andor recorders, digital video recorder system, video cassette players andor recorders, automotivemarine video systems, airplane video systems, and video game systems.
10. The device as in claim 1 wherein the device comprises an audio system and wherein the at least one intuitive control element is positioned on the housing of the audio system and controls the audio function andor the video function of the audio system.
11. The device as in claim 10, wherein said audio system is selected from the group consisting of personal audio player based on external media, personal audio system based on internal media storage, home audio systems, mini audio systems, portable audio systems, automotivemarine audio systems, computer audio systems, and airplane audio systems.
12. The device as in claim 1 wherein the at least one intuitive control element is positioned on the housing of a telephonic device.
13. The device as in claim 1 wherein the at least one intuitive control element is positioned on the housing of an alarm clock.
14. The device as in claim 1 wherein the at least one intuitive control element is positioned on the housing of a light switch or light dimmer.
15. The device as in claim 1 wherein the actuation of the intuitive control element is accomplished by the person depressing, rotating, twisting, pulling, sliding, interfacing a touch screen, manipulating, or performing any combination of the foregoing actions upon the intuitive control element.
16. The device as in claim 1 wherein the top surface of the housing is generally in the form of a human face.
17. A device for controlling a remotely-located electronic system, comprising:
a housing generally shaped in the form of a face;
at least one intuitive control element capable of actuation by a person, the at least one intuitive control element positioned on the housing at a location on the face corresponding to an eye location or an ear location; and
a transmitter built into the housing and electronically responsive to send a signal to the remotely-located electronic system upon actuation of the at least one intuitive control element;
wherein the signal sent by the transmitter upon actuation of the at least one intuitive control element at the eye location controls a video function of the remotely-located electronic system and wherein the signal sent by the transmitter upon actuation of the at least one intuitive control element at the ear location controls an audio function of the remotely-located electronic system.
18. A device for controlling a remotely-located electronic system, comprising:
a housing;
at least one intuitive control element capable of actuation by a person, the at least one intuitive control shaped in the form of an eye andor shaped in the form of an ear;
a transmitter built into the housing and electronically responsive to send a signal to the remotely-located electronic system upon actuation of the at least one intuitive control element;
wherein the signal sent by the transmitter upon actuation of the at least one intuitive control element at the eye location controls a video function of the remotely-located electronic system and wherein the signal sent by the transmitter upon actuation of the at least one intuitive control element at the ear location controls an audio function of the remotely-located electronic system.
19. A device including a video function andor an audio function, the device comprising:
a housing having at least a face portion thereof generally shaped in the form of a face;
at least one intuitive control element capable of actuation by a person, the at least one intuitive control element positioned on the face portion of the housing at a location on the face corresponding to an eye location or an ear location; and
wherein the at least one intuitive control element at the eye location operates a video function of the device, and the at least one intuitive control element at the ear location operates an audio function of the device.
20. A device including a video function andor an audio function, the device comprising:
a housing;
at least one intuitive control element capable of actuation by a person, the at least one intuitive control shaped in the form of an eye andor shaped in the form of an ear;
wherein the at least one intuitive control element shaped in the form of an eye operates a video function of the device, and the at least one intuitive control element shaped in the form of an ear operates an audio function of the device.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. A docking apparatus, comprising:
a base comprising a protrusion disposed on a bottom surface thereof, a hole defined in the protrusion;
a button disposed below the base;
a fixing member slidable in the hole of the protrusion of the base;
a resilient member attached to the protrusion of the base; and
a port replicator movably disposed on a top surface of the base, an accommodating hole defined in the port replicator and adapted to be in alignment with the hole of the protrusion;
wherein the resilient member drives the fixing member upwardly to extend through the hole of the protrusion to engage in the accommodating hole of the port replicator thereby fixedly attaching the port replicator to the base; the button is manipulated to drive the fixing member to move downward to retract from the accommodating hole of the port replicator, for detaching the port replicator from the base.
2. The docking apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the button comprises a first end attached to the base and a second end movable relative the base.
3. The docking apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the second end of the button defines a cutout, and the protrusion extends through the cutout of the button.
4. The docking apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein at least one hook is formed on the bottom surface of the base, a pair of clips is formed on the bottom surface of the base to clasp the button, and at least one hook hole is defined in the first end of the button corresponding to said hook of the base.
5. The docking apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein a handgrip is formed on the button between the first and second ends thereof, and a button hole is defined in the base to receive the handgrip of the button therein.
6. The docking apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one opening is defined in a wall of the protrusion, at least one projection is formed on an end of the fixing member, and said projection is adapted to be slidable along said opening with a portion thereof extended out of the wall.
7. The docking apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein a collar is formed on a free end of the protrusion, and the resilient member is disposed between the collar of the protrusion and said portion of the projection of the fixing member.
8. The docking apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one catch is formed on the top surface of the base, and at least one catch hole is defined in the port replicator to receive said catch.
9. A docking apparatus comprising:
a base comprising top and bottom surfaces, at least one catch formed on the top surface of the base, a through hole defined in the base;
a port replicator defining at least one catch hole in a bottom thereof to receive said catch of the base, an accommodating hole defined in the bottom of the port replicator, the port replicator slidable in a rear-to-front direction thereby preliminarily attaching the port replicator on the base;
a fixing member slidably received in the hole of the base and adapted to engage in the accommodating hole of the port replicator thereby finally attaching the port replicator on the base; and
a button constantly engaging the fixing member and capable of being manipulated to retract the fixing member from the accommodating hole for detaching the port replicator from the base.
10. The docking apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein said catch of the base comprises a vertical portion extending upwardly from the base and a horizontal portion disposed on the vertical portion, and said catch hole of the port replicator comprises a relatively wide portion and a relatively narrow portion in communication with the wide portion, corresponding to the horizontal portion and the vertical portion of said catch of the base respectively.
11. The docking apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein a protrusion depends from the bottom surface of the base, and the hole of the base is further extended through the protrusion.
12. The docking apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein a resilient member is fixed to the protrusion to constantly urge the fixing member toward the top surface of the base.
13. The docking apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein the button comprises a first end attached to the base and a second end movable relative to the base.
14. A docking apparatus comprising:
a base for providing a neighboring space for at least one electronic device;
a port replicator detachably attachable to said base so as to provide electrical connection toward said at least one electronic device in said space, said port replicator movable between a first position where said port replicator is securely fixed to said base and a second position where said port replicator is released to freely detach from said base; and
a button attached to said base, and having a handgrip exposable to said space for a user of said electronic device and a fixing member resiliently reachable to said port replicator, said fixing member reachably engagable with said port replicator to confine movement of said port replicator from said first position to said second position, and disengagable from said port replicator by means of driving of said user via said handgrip of said button so as to release said port replicator for moving to said second position.
15. The docking apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein a fastener is formed on said base adjacent to an edge thereof spaced from said port replicator, and said button engagably extends toward said fastener.
16. The docking apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein said base comprises at least one catch formed thereon and engagable with said port replicator to limit movement of said port replicator along a perpendicular direction away from said base in said first position of said port replicator.
17. The docking apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein said fixing member is separate from said button and receivably surrounded by a cutout of said button so as to be drivable by said button via said cutout.

1. A computer-implemented method for dynamically configuring a user interface for interacting with an application, the method being executed using one or more processors and comprising:
receiving, by the one or more processors, user input, the user input having been provided through the user interface;
in response to receiving the user input, determining, by the one or more processors, one or more expected user-actions based on a graph and the user input, the graph modeling user interactions with the application;
obtaining, by the one or more processors, one or more modifications based on the one or more expected user-actions; and
transmitting, by the one or more processors, instructions to modify the user interface based on the one or more modifications.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining one or more expected user-actions comprises generating the graph based on the user input.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more modifications comprise at least one of:
combining two or more elements of the user interface;
rearranging two or more elements of the user interface; and
constructing one or more new user-interface elements.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the graph comprises a node graph comprising:
a plurality of nodes, each of the nodes representing a respective element of the user interface; and
a plurality of edges, each of the edges connecting a respective pair of nodes and representing a sequential interaction by one or more users with the pair of nodes.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the edges of the graph comprise directed edges.
6. The method of claim 4, wherein the edges of the graph comprises time-weighted edges.
7. The method of claim 4, wherein determining one or more expected user-actions comprises implementing a clustering technique on the node graph.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the graph corresponds to previous interactions with the application by a user that provided the user input through the user interface.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the graph corresponds to previous interactions with the application by a class of multiple users.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein a user that provided the user interface is outside the class of multiple users.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein the user input was provided during a previous user session, and wherein transmitting instructions to modify the user interface occurs between user sessions.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein the user input was provided during a current user session, and wherein transmitting instructions to modify the user interface occurs in real time during the current user session as a user interacts with the application.
13. The method of claim 1, wherein the user interface comprises a default user interface.
14. The method of claim 1, wherein the user interface comprises a previously modified user interface.
15. The method of claim 1, wherein the application comprises a stock trading application facilitating buying and selling of securities by the user via the user interface.
16. The method of claim 1, wherein determining one or more expected user-actions based on the graph comprises accessing the graph via an in-memory database.
17. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more modifications comprise a first set of modifications, and wherein the method further comprises:
providing a first modified user interface based on the first set of modifications;
providing a second modified user interface based on a second set of modifications; and
selecting, from the first and second modified user interfaces, a preferred user interface by implementing an AB testing technique.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein the second set of modifications is obtained based on the one or more expected user-actions.
19. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium coupled to one or more processors and having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations for dynamically configuring a user interface for interacting with an application, the operations comprising:
receiving, by the one or more processors, user input, the user input having been provided through the user interface;
in response to receiving the user input, determining, by the one or more processors, one or more expected user-actions based on a graph and the user input, the graph modeling user interactions with the application;
obtaining, by the one or more processors, one or more modifications based on the one or more expected user-actions; and
transmitting, by the one or more processors, instructions to modify the user interface based on the one or more modifications.
20. A system, comprising:
a client-side computing device; and
a computer-readable storage device coupled to the client-side computing device and having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the client-side computing device, cause the client-side computing device to perform operations for dynamically configuring a user interface for interacting with an application, the operations comprising:
receiving, by the one or more processors, user input, the user input having been provided through the user interface;
in response to receiving the user input, determining, by the one or more processors, one or more expected user-actions based on a graph and the user input, the graph modeling user interactions with the application;
obtaining, by the one or more processors, one or more modifications based on the one or more expected user-actions; and
transmitting, by the one or more processors, instructions to modify the user interface based on the one or more modifications.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. A method for depicting one or more objects by an electronic device comprising a display, the method comprising:
determining, by the electronic device, a geolocation of the one or more objects;
determining, by the electronic device, a location of a light source relative to the geolocation according to a date and time;
determining, by the electronic device, a vector from the objects to the light source;
applying shading to the objects according to the vector;
determining, by the electronic device, shadows cast by the objects according to the vector; and
depicting the objects in the geolocation with one or more of the applied shading and the cast shadows according to the geolocation, date, time, and a faced direction,
wherein the geolocation, date, time, and faced direction of the depicting are determined independently of a current location, date, time, and faced direction of the electronic device.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the light source comprises the sun or moon.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the determining of the vector comprises determining a position in the sky of the light source according to the geolocation and a local date and time at the geolocation.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the objects comprise at least one object known to be at the geolocation.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the object comprises an immobile object.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining of the geolocation is based on signals received by a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining of the geolocation is based on information entered by a user.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining of the vector comprises identifying a primary light source in at least one image obtained with at least one camera.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the faced direction is determined based on at least one of a sensing of a magnetic field, a gyroscope, and a visual horizon.
10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:
obtaining current environmental information of the geolocation; and
depicting the objects in the geolocation according to the current environmental information.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein the environmental information comprises at least one of a temperature, a wind direction, a wind speed, a date, a time, a current cloud cover, currently falling precipitation, recent precipitation, information of flora common to the geolocation, and information of road maintenance or closures.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein at least one object is depicted moving according to the wind direction and wind speed.
13. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more of the geolocation, date, time, and faced direction may be entered by a user.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein if any of the geolocation, date, time, and faced direction are not entered by the user, then the light source, shading, and shadows are determined according to the respective current location, date, time, or faced direction of the electronic device instead.
15. The method of claim 1, wherein the objects comprise at least one virtual object not known to be physically present at the geolocation, date, and time.
16. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more objects is depicted highlighted according to criteria entered by a user.
17. An apparatus for depicting one or more objects, the apparatus comprising:
a display; and
at least one controller for determining a geolocation of one or more objects, for determining a location of a light source relative to the geolocation, for determining a vector from the objects to the light source, for applying shading to the objects according to the vector, for determining shadows cast by the objects according to the vector, and for controlling to depict the objects on the display in the geolocation with one or more of the applied shading and the cast shadows according to the geolocation, date, time, and a faced direction,
wherein the geolocation, date, time, and faced direction of the depicting are determined independently of a current location, date, time, and faced direction of the apparatus.
18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the light source comprises the sun or moon.
19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the controller determines a position in the sky of the light source according to the geolocation and a local date and time at the geolocation.
20. The method of claim 17, wherein the objects comprise at least one object known to be at the geolocation.
21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the object comprises an immobile object.
22. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the controller determines the geolocation based on signals received by a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver.
23. The method of claim 17, wherein the controller determines the geolocation based on information entered by a user.
24. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the controller determines the vector by identifying a primary light source in at least one image obtained with at least one camera.
25. The method of claim 17, wherein the faced direction is determined based on at least one of a sensing of a magnetic field, a gyroscope, and a visual horizon.
26. The apparatus according to claim 17,
wherein the at least one controller further obtains current environmental information of the geolocation, and controls to depict the objects on the display in the geolocation according to the current environmental information.
27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the environmental information comprises at least one of a temperature, a wind direction, a wind speed, a date, a time, a current cloud cover, currently falling precipitation, recent precipitation, information of flora common to the geolocation, and information of road maintenance or closures.
28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein at least one object is depicted moving according to the wind direction and wind speed.
29. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein one or more of the geolocation, date, time, and faced direction may be entered by a user.
30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein if any of the geolocation, date, time, and faced direction are not entered by the user, then the light source, shading, and shadows are determined according to the respective current location, date, time, or faced direction of the apparatus instead.
31. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the objects comprise at least one virtual object not known to be physically present at the geolocation, date, and time.
32. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein at least one of the one or more objects is depicted highlighted according to criteria entered by a user.