Patent Application

App. No. 13/049,065

Abstract

Claims (49)

1 . A method for resuming a suspended session, the method comprising:

determining a presence of a user within a predefined proximity of a workstation; and

responsive to determining the presence of the user, causing pre-retrieval of stored session state information for a suspended session associated with the user before the user enters credential information for logging onto the workstation.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the presence of the user comprises receiving an identifier transmitted by a mobile computing device associated with the user via a proximity-based communications technology.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the proximity-based communications technology comprises Bluetooth.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein determining a presence of a user within a predefined proximity of a workstation comprises determining a presence of the user within a predefined proximity of a first workstation, and wherein the session state information comprises information on activities performed on a second workstation prior to suspension of the session, the second workstation being separate from the first workstation.

5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving credential information for the user; and

responsive to the receipt of the credential information, using the pre-retrieved session state information to resume the session.

6 . The method of claim 5 , further comprising:

tracking one or more activities performed on the workstation following resumption of the session;

determining one or more of a suspension or a termination of the session; and

responsive to suspension or termination of the session, causing the session state information to be updated based at least in part on the tracked one or more activities.

7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising causing a visual indication of the user to be displayed on a display of the workstation in response to determining the presence of the user, the visual indication being selectable to enable entry of the user's credential information for logging onto the workstation and resuming the suspended session.

8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the user comprises a first user and the session comprises a first session, the method further comprising:

determining a presence of a second user within the predefined proximity of the workstation;

responsive to determining the presence of the second user, causing pre-retrieval of stored session state information for a second suspended session associated with the second user;

determining a priority associated with at least one of the first session or the second session;

determining an ordering of the first and second sessions based at least in part on the determined priority; and

causing visual indications of the first and second users to be displayed on the display in accordance with the determined ordering.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the workstation comprises a workstation for dispensing medical supplies, and wherein the session state information comprises medical supply order information.

10 . An apparatus for resuming a suspended session, the apparatus comprising at least one processor, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the apparatus to at least:

determine a presence of a user within a predefined proximity of a workstation; and

responsive to determining the presence of the user, cause pre-retrieval of stored session state information for a suspended session associated with the user before the user enters credential information for logging onto the workstation.

11 . The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the apparatus to determine the presence of the user at least in part by receiving an identifier transmitted by a mobile computing device associated with the user via a proximity-based communications technology.

12 . The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the proximity-based communications technology comprises Bluetooth.

13 . The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the apparatus to determine a presence of a user within a predefined proximity of a workstation by determining a presence of the user within a predefined proximity of a first workstation, and wherein the session state information comprises information on activities performed on a second workstation prior to suspension of the session, the second workstation being separate from the first workstation.

14 . The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to further cause the apparatus to:

receive credential information for the user; and

responsive to the receipt of the credential information, use the pre-retrieved session state information to resume the session.

15 . The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to further cause the apparatus to:

track one or more activities performed on the workstation following resumption of the session;

determine one or more of a suspension or a termination of the session; and

responsive to suspension or termination of the session, cause the session state information to be updated based at least in part on the tracked one or more activities.

16 . The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to further cause the apparatus to:

cause a visual indication of the user to be displayed on a display of the workstation in response to determining the presence of the user, the visual indication being selectable to enable entry of the user's credential information for logging onto the workstation and resuming the suspended session.

17 . The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to further cause the apparatus to:

determine a presence of a second user within the predefined proximity of the workstation;

responsive to determining the presence of the second user, cause pre-retrieval of stored session state information for a second suspended session associated with the second user;

determine a priority associated with at least one of the first session or the second session;

determine an ordering of the first and second sessions based at least in part on the determined priority; and

cause visual indications of the first and second users to be displayed on the display in accordance with the determined ordering.

18 . The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the workstation comprises a workstation for dispensing medical supplies, and wherein the session state information comprises medical supply order information.

19 . The apparatus of claim 10 , further comprising at least one memory storing instructions that when executed by the at least one processor cause the apparatus to:

determine a presence of a user within a predefined proximity of a workstation; and

responsive to determining the presence of the user, cause pre-retrieval of stored session state information for a suspended session associated with the user before the user enters credential information for logging onto the workstation.

20 . A computer program product for resuming a suspended session, the computer program product comprising at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program instructions stored therein, the computer-readable program instructions comprising:

program instructions configured to determine a presence of a user within a predefined proximity of a workstation; and

program instructions configured, responsive to determining the presence of the user, to cause pre-retrieval of stored session state information for a suspended session associated with the user before the user enters credential information for logging onto the workstation.

Assignments (8)