System and methods for a run time configurable user interface controller

Abstract

The present invention relates to interface control systems and methods, for use with consumer electronic devices. User Interfaces, which are normally predefined at the time of manufacture, are entirely specific to the appliance by virtue of the underlying kernel or operating system. The present system includes means for providing information to and receiving information from a user to establish control over the user interface. The means for providing and receiving the information may be controlled, at least in part, by an alterable database that is separate from both the operating system and applications. This allows the database to be changed without making any changes to the underlying operating system or applications. The alterable database may be in a script form, and may be configured by the user at any time during normal operation of the apparatus. The system may invoke or modify the information contained in the alterable database in response to stimuli external to the alterable database. The alterable database may also cause flags to be set. These flags may result in a limit to the operation of the apparatus, a limit to the operation of the applications, or an alteration of information referenced by the alterable database.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for reskinning a user interface of a consumer electronics device, the method comprising:
 intercepting data between at least one of an application, an operating system and an output driver of the consumer electronics device, wherein the output driver includes input and output drivers for at least one of video, audio and tactile interfaces;   determining an indicator is present, wherein the indicator includes at least one of the status of the consumer electronics device and content within the data, and wherein the indicator specifies that the data should be modified; and   modifying the data according to a theme, wherein the theme includes a plurality of limited scripts to generate a customized interface causing at least one of the animations and alterations to move based upon timers, battery levels change and signal strength varies, and outputting the modified data to the original destination.   
     
     
         2 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining if a transparency cue is present, wherein the transparency cue includes at least one of the status of the consumer electronics device and content within the data, and wherein the transparency cue specifies that the data should remain unmodified, and if the transparency cue is present, then forwarding the data to its original destination.   
     
     
         3 . The method as recited in  claim 2 , wherein the transparency cue includes any one of a plurality of events, and wherein the plurality of events includes at least one of low power status, display size, application dependent actions, and output data signals. 
     
     
         4 . The method as recited in  claim 3 , wherein the plurality of events of the transparency cue are user defined. 
     
     
         5 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the theme is stored within a configurable database. 
     
     
         6 . The method as recited in  claim 5 , wherein the configurable database is configured by a user, and wherein the configuration of the configurable database includes generation of pseudo code by the user. 
     
     
         7 . The method as recited in  claim 5 , wherein the configurable database is read by an interpreter. 
     
     
         8 . The method as recited in  claim 5 , wherein the configurable database is compiled to bytecode. 
     
     
         9 . The method as recited in  claim 5 , wherein the configurable database incorporates both current and prior versions of limited and preferred scripts, and wherein an error in the current version of one of the scripts causes reversion to the prior version of that script. 
     
     
         10 . The method as recited in  claim 9 , wherein the preferred and limited scripts include information that describes the format, layout or content of the modified data. 
     
     
         11 . The method as recited in  claim 10 , wherein the preferred and limited scripts reference at least one of scaling, skewing, transformation, animation and alteration information. 
     
     
         12 . An apparatus for reskinning a user interface of a consumer electronics device, the apparatus comprising:
 an application program for intercepting data between at least one of an application, an operating system and an output driver of the consumer electronics device, wherein the output driver includes input and output drivers for at least one of video, audio and tactile interfaces; and   a configuration engine for determining an indicator is present, wherein the indicator includes at least one of the status of the consumer electronics device and content within the data, and wherein the indicator specifies that the data should be modified, and modifying the data according to a theme, wherein the theme includes a plurality of limited scripts to generate a customized interface causing at least one of the animations and alterations to move based upon timers, battery levels change and signal strength varies, and outputting the modified data to the original destination.   
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the configuration engine is further configured to determine if a transparency cue is present, wherein the transparency cue includes at least one of the status of the consumer electronics device and content within the data flow, and wherein the transparency cue specifies that the data should remain unmodified, and if the transparency cue is present, then the configuration engine further configured to forward the data to its original destination. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 13 , wherein the transparency cue includes any one of a plurality of events, and wherein the plurality of events includes at least one of low power status, display size, application dependent actions, and output data signals. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the plurality of events of the transparency cue are user defined. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the theme is stored within a configurable database accessible by the configuration engine. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the configurable database is configured by a user, and wherein the configuration of the configurable database includes generation of pseudo code by the user. 
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the configurable database is read by an interpreter. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the configurable database is compiled to bytecode. 
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the configurable database incorporates both current and prior versions of limited and preferred scripts, and wherein an error in the current version of one of the scripts causes reversion to the prior version of that script. 
     
     
         21 . The apparatus of  claim 20 , wherein the preferred and limited scripts include information that describes the format, layout or content of the modified data. 
     
     
         22 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein the preferred and limited scripts reference at least one of scaling, skewing, transformation, animation and alteration information.