System and method for optimizing user notifications for small
Contents
1. among others for each notification event Thus each profile may be configured to provide different types of notifications for a plurality of different types of notification type events Using the profiles the small computer device may be set to a predetermined mode wherein the mode relates to a predeter mined notification profile so that each notification is pre sented to the user in the appropriate manner For example while in a meeting mode the small computer device uses the meeting profile to provide notifications to the user in an appropriate manner Another embodiment of the invention automatically sets the small computer device into customized notification mode in response to events stored in an associated calendar application The logical operations of the various embodiments of the present invention are implemented 1 as a sequence of com puter implemented steps running on a computing system 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 4 and or 2 as interconnected machine modules within the computing system The implementation is a matter of choice dependent on the performance requirements of the computing system implementing the invention Accordingly the logical operations making up the embodiments of the present inven tion described herein are referred to alternatively as opera tions steps or modules A computing device 100 incorporating aspects of the present invention is shown in FIG 12. lt 1998 gt XP002133409 Originally retrieved from the Internet on Mar 17 2000 URL lt http www nokia com phones 9 1 10 userguide html gt parts 1 and 2 pp 1 177 Perry Greg Teach Yourself Windows 95 in 24 Hours 2nd Ed 1997 pp 1 578 S Appl No 09 741 571 Advisory Action mailed Jan 23 2004 3 ages S Appl No 09 741 571 Advisory Action mailed Jan 31 2006 3 ages S Appl No 09 741 571 Advisory Action mailed Oct 31 2007 3 ages S Appl No 09 741 571 Advisory Action mailed Dec 3 2004 3 ages S Appl No 09 741 571 Amendment After Final filed Jan 3 2006 3 pages S Appl No 09 741 571 Amendment After Final filed Oct 15 007 10 pages S Appl No 09 741 571 Amendment and Response filed Apr 24 008 14 pages S Appl No 09 741 571 Amendment and Response filed Apr 26 007 22 pages S Appl No 09 741 571 Amendment and Response filed Jun 14 004 10 pages S Appl No 09 741 571 Amendment and Response filed Jul 22 005 15 pages 0a C nio Ue ane ge em an NONCGNCN XG Gq S Appl No 09 741 571 Amendment and Response filed Oct 13 006 13 pages S Appl No 09 741 571 Amendment and Response filed Nov 1 004 10 pages S Appl No 09 741 571 Amendment and Response filed Dec 20 005 21 pages S Appl No 09 741 571 Amendment and Response mailed Jan 5 Grardr 2004 8 pages U S Appl No 09 741 571 Amendment a
3. 412 may occur explicitly by prompting the use to select another mode for customization or by selecting a complete or done control button to indicate that no more modes are to be cus tomized Alternatively determination act 412 may occur implicitly wherein the user either selects another mode for customization or exits the customization process by selecting another unrelated feature As may be appreciated the acts of customizing the volume levels sound files and reminder information may be per formed in different order Moreover in an embodiment default values for these items are stored in memory When default values are stored for the separate profiles a user has the option of customizing all some or none of the various elements e g volume sound files etc FIGS 5 6 and 7 illustrate screen shots for an embodiment of the invention during the flow 400 of customizing a notifi cation mode FIG 5 illustrates volume selection operation 404 The particular mode is shown in text box 502 Control 504 allows for the drop down selection of another mode if desired Slide controls 506 508 and 510 are used to select volume levels for different types of notification events Slide control 506 is used to select the volume level for screen taps while control 508 is used to select the volume level for hard ware button presses Additionally slide control 510 is used to select the volume level for system events such as a critical sto
4. In an embodiment of the invention the computer 100 is a handheld computer having both input elements and output elements Input elements may include touch screen display area 102 and input buttons 104 and allow the user to enter information into the computer 100 The small computing device also incorporates a side input element 106 allowing further user input The side input 106 element may be a rotary switch a button or any other type of manual input element In alternative embodiments the small computing device 100 may incorporate more or less input elements For example the display 102 may not be a touch screen in some embodiments In yet another alternative embodiment the computing device is a portable phone sys tem such as a cellular phone having a display 102 and input buttons 104 and 106 The small computing device 100 further incorporates out put type elements such as display 102 which displays infor mation to the user including a graphical user interface such as display 112 text and or controls Other output elements include speaker 108 and LED light 110 Additionally device 100 may incorporate a vibration module not shown which causes the device 100 to vibrate wherein the vibration notifies the user ofa predetermined event Thus the vibration module may be deemed an output element since vibrations provide the indication of the event or other computer related occur rence to the user In yet another embodiment the comput
5. either automati cally or manually Once in a particular mode the device pro vides notifications according to that mode 20 Claims 6 Drawing Sheets pi 400 US 8 839 273 B2 Page 2 56 References Cited U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 6 125 385 A 9 2000 Wies et al 6 177 950 BI 1 2001 Robb 6 208 996 BI 3 2001 Ben Shachar et al 6 209 009 BI 3 2001 Schwartz et al 6 219 051 BI 4 2001 Furuya 6 317 718 BI 11 2001 Fano 6 317 727 B1 11 2001 May 6 374 101 BI 4 2002 Gelbien 6 418 309 BI 7 2002 Moon et al 6 427 064 BI 7 2002 Henderson 6 476 825 BI 11 2002 Croy etal 6 489 950 BI 12 2002 Griffin et al 6 526 335 Bl 2 2003 Treyz et al 6 546 231 Bl 4 2003 Someya et al 6 587 835 Bl 7 2003 Treyz et al 6 782 253 Bl 8 2004 Shteyn et al 6 816 878 BI 11 2004 Zimmers et al 6 850 901 BI 2 2005 Hunter et al 6 968 179 BI 11 2005 De Vries 6 999 992 BI 2 2006 Deen et al 7 209 955 Bl 4 2007 Major et al 7 458 080 B2 11 2008 Parkeret al 719 318 8 352 961 B2 2002 0177453 Al 2006 0085514 Al 1 2013 Parker et al 719 318 11 2002 Chen et al 4 2006 Deen et al FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS WO 99 21101 4 1999 WO 99 23579 5 1999 OTHER PUBLICATIONS Horvitz E Jacobs A Hovel D Attention Sensitive Alerting Pro ceedings of UAI 99 Conference on Uncertainty and Artificial Intel ligence Jul 1999 Morgan Kaufman Publishers San Francisco pp 305 313 Nokia 9110 Communicator User s Manual online
6. fication profiles in an alternative embodiment the notifica tion profile customization utility is integrated with operating system 304 The application program 302 communicates with a user through the operating system the input output control mod ule 308 and the input output devices 208 and 210 The appli cation program 302 receives input signals to customize vari ous notification modes Each mode has an associated profile and is stored by the application program 302 in the memory system 206 through the operating system 304 through a memory control module 310 Additionally the application program 302 provides the user the ability to set the notifica tion mode for the device 100 Once the user chooses a par ticular notification mode the application program informs the operating system 304 of the notification mode Later once a notification event occurs the operating system 304 uses the chosen notification mode to initiate user notifications Notification profiles are stored in the memory system 206 and typically comprise a lookup table of values In an embodi ment of the invention the memory 206 stores at least three different profiles a normal profile an outside profile and a meeting profile The normal profile has intermediate volume levels for notifications and does not employ vibration type notification since vibrations tend to consume significant amounts of power The outside profile has louder volume levels since it can be h
7. US008839273B2 az United States Patent Parker et al US 8 839 273 B2 Sep 16 2014 10 Patent No 45 Date of Patent 54 71 72 73 21 22 65 63 51 52 SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR OPTIMIZING USER NOTIFICATIONS FOR SMALL COMPUTER DEVICES Applicant Microsoft Corporation Redmond WA US Kathryn L Parker Fall City WA US Peter Vale Seattle WA US Microsoft Corporation Redmond WA US Subject to any disclaimer the term of this patent is extended or adjusted under 35 U S C 154 b by 0 days This patent is subject to a terminal dis claimer 13 733 695 Jan 3 2013 Prior Publication Data US 2013 0125142 A1 May 16 2013 Related U S Application Data Continuation of application No 12 265 557 filed on Nov 5 2008 now Pat No 8 352 961 which is a continuation of application No 09 741 571 filed on Dec 19 2000 now Pat No 7 458 080 Inventors Assignee Notice Appl No Filed Int CI GO6F 15 16 2006 01 GO6F 15 173 2006 01 GO6F 15 177 2006 01 HO4M 1 725 2006 01 HOAL 29 08 2006 01 GO6F 9 54 2006 01 HOAL 29 06 2006 01 GR 5 02 2006 01 CPC soi GO6F 9 542 2013 01 HO4M 1 72563 2013 01 HO4L 67 303 2013 01 HO4M 1 72566 2013 01 HO4L 69 24 2013 01 H04L 69 329 2013 01 HO4M 1 72569 2013 01 HO4M 1 72572 2013 01 G06F 15 02 2013 01 719 318 709 217 700 66 Buttons and Evenis Selec
8. arder to hear a notification outside Further the outside profile employs vibration to further aid the user in recognizing notifications The meeting profile has volume levels set to silent so that others are not interrupted Additionally the meeting profile may also employ vibrations as a notification type that informs the user of an event but does not interfere with the meeting Table 1 shown below high lights some of these and other features associated with these exemplary notification profiles US 8 839 273 B2 TABLE 1 Profile Volume Sound Files Enabled Notification Type Normal Intermediate Default Sound Files Sound LED and Messages Outside Loud Default Sound Files Sound and Vibration Meeting Disabled No Sounds Used LED Messages and Vibration As may be appreciated many other profiles may be created and stored For example the system may incorporate an off profile which effectively turns all notifications off Addition ally although not shown profiles may be created that provide for certain notification types such as sound for only specific notification events such as critical reminders As an example the profile may be set to silent mode for all notification events except for a phone call or email from a particular person FIG 4 is a flow chart of the operational characteristics related to customizing a notification mode i e creating a notification profile in accordance with the present invention The customizati
9. are presented to the user according to the selected mode The device remains in the selected mode until the end of the calendar event Upon the ending of the calendar event the device is automatically switched back to the previ ous notification mode That is since calendar events typically 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 10 have both a start time and an end time the end time is used to switch the notification mode back to its original state In an embodiment of the invention the software could support the automatic profile switching for each appointment individually wherein the user manually associates an appointment with a particular profile That profile is then used for all reminders occurring during that one appointment Alternatively the user may set a predetermined profile for all appointments of a particular type e g busy out of office tentative free etc Therefore the user does not have to manu ally set a profile for each appointment individually but can set a profile based on the type of appointment in a global manner In such a case the device automatically enters profile switch ing mode once an appointment of a predetermined type begins Flow 900 may be described by way of an example Assume a calendar application has stored a one hour meeting that begins at 1 00 PM and ends at 2 00 PM Further assume that the meeting event has an associated predetermined notifica tion mode called me
10. cation to the user according to the stored profile The above described invention allows the user to configure sophisticated profiles relating to different modes or expected environments These profiles maintain a listing of the various type of notification events e g key presses reminders wire less communication signals phone calls text messages etc Additionally the profiles maintain a list of notification types e g audible vibration visual etc wherein each notification event is associated with one or more notification types Thus prior to providing the user a notification the device deter mines the mode that the device is in and presents the notifi cation according to the associated profile Moreover the device may be automatically placed in a predetermined mode based on a stored calendar event to relieve the user of the responsibility of remembering when to place the device in a new mode Although the invention has been described in language specific to structural features and or methodological steps it is to be understood that the invention defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or steps described Rather the specific features and steps are disclosed as preferred forms of implementing the claimed invention Since many embodiments of the invention can be US 8 839 273 B2 11 made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention the invention resides in the cla
11. ccessing a calendar type application capable of storing calendar related events 3 The method of claim 2 wherein detecting the calendar related event further comprises reminding the user of upcom ing calendar related events scheduled in the calendar type application 4 The method of claim 1 wherein the second notification mode is associated with the calendar related event when the event is added 5 The method of claim 1 wherein the second notification mode is associated with the calendar related event after the event is added 6 The method of claim 1 wherein the calendar related event is a set of appointments 7 One or more computer storage media having computer executable components that upon execution perform a method for automatically notifying a user of notification events with predetermined notification types depending on the user s environment and stored notification profiles the method comprising operating by a processor in a first notification mode asso ciated with a first set of notification types wherein the first set of notification types comprise a silent notifica tion detecting by the processor a calendar related event determining by the processor whether a second notifica tion mode is associated with the calendar related event wherein the second notification mode is associated with a second set of notification types and where wherein the second set of notification types comprise a tactile or a
12. ce The flow 900 begins when a calendar related event occurs Hence in this embodiment the small computer device has a calendar type application capable of storing appointments and other calendar related items Moreover the small com puter device has an internal clock system thereby allowing the small computer device to remind the user of upcoming events scheduled in the calendar application Upon the occurrence of a calendar related event determi nation operation 902 determines whether a predetermined notification mode has been set for the event In one embodi ment the user may set a particular notification mode for an event when the event is created and or edited Alternatively the user may associate notification modes with calendar events independently of the creation or editing of the calendar event If determination operation 902 determines that no pre determined notification mode has been set for the particular calendar event flown branches NO to end operation 908 In such a case the notification mode is not changed and any subsequent notifications are presented to the user according to the existing notification mode Otherwise if determination operation 902 determines that a predetermined notification mode has been associated with the calendar event flow branches YES to application opera tion 904 Application operation 904 automatically applies the selected mode to the small computer device and any subse quent notifications
13. d event reminder 15 The computer system of claim 14 wherein detecting the calendar related event further comprises accessing a cal endar type application capable of storing calendar related events 16 The computer system of claim 15 wherein detecting the calendar related event further comprises reminding the user of upcoming calendar related events scheduled in the calendar type application 17 The computer system of claim 14 wherein the second notification mode is associated with the calendar related event when the event is added US 8 839 273 B2 13 14 18 The computer system of claim 14 wherein the second notification mode is associated with the calendar related event after the event is added 19 The computer system of claim 14 wherein the second notification type is a vibration 5 20 The computer storage medium of claim 14 wherein the second notification type further comprises a volume level
14. eceive Selection of a Notification Mode Selected Mode Applied for Device Remain in Mode Until Receipt of Another Indication to Select a Notification Mode 804 806 808 Fig 8 U S Patent Sep 16 2014 Sheet 6 of 6 US 8 839 273 B2 Pe 900 Upon Occurrence of a calendar Event Has a Predetermined Notification Mode been Set for the Event NO 902 YES Selected Mode Applied for Small Computer Ra Device Remain in Mode Upon the ending of the calendar event return Small Computer Device to Previous Predetermined Sound Mode 906 End 908 FIG 9 US 8 839 273 B2 1 SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR OPTIMIZING USER NOTIFICATIONS FOR SMALL COMPUTER DEVICES CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation application and claims priority to U S patent application Ser No 12 265 557 now U S Pat No 8 352 961 filed Nov 5 2008 and entitled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR OPTIMIZING USER NOTIFICATIONS FOR SMALL COMPUTER DEVICES which application is a continuation application of U S patent application Ser No 09 741 571 now U S Pat No 7 458 080 filed on Dec 19 2000 and entitled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR OPTIMIZING USER NOTIFICATIONS FOR SMALL COMPUTER DEVICES all of which appli cation are hereby incorporated herein by reference TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to small portable computing devices and particularly to computing devices that
15. ection mailed Jun 22 O11 5 pages S Appl No 12 265 557 Notice of Allowance mailed May 18 012 13 pages S Appl No 12 265 557 Notice of Allowance mailed Aug 30 012 14 pages NONONG e NC cCcaececd NON NONCEC XG U S Appl No 12 265 557 Notice of Allowance mailed Dec 1 2011 10 pages European Application 01130078 7 Communication mailed Jul 6 2007 5 pages European Application 01130078 7 Communication mailed Nov 11 2009 3 pages European Application 01130078 7 Communication mailed Dec 15 2008 4 pages European Application 01130078 7 Notice of Appeal mailed Jun 18 2012 4 pages European Application 01130078 7 Search Report mailed Jan 8 2004 3 pages European Application 01130078 7 Summons to Attend Oral Pro ceedings Feb 29 2012 13 pages cited by examiner U S Patent Sep 16 2014 Sheet 1 of 6 US 8 839 273 B2 108 Small Computer Device 110 ARER 106 425 936 0557 Ea Focus Groups Pick up Kevin 6 00PM 6 30PM 102 pa 19 Unread messages No unsent messages 114 37 Active tasks Meeting 2 High priority v Normal Off Outside me cea cn e ue 6 en E 200 pu vic In De t e 208 216 218 Control Unit CPU U S Patent Sep 16 2014 Sheet 2 of 6 US 8 839 273 B2 302 Application Program Application Program I
16. ent or existing notification mode such as a check mark next to the current mode Following the display of the mode menu receive operation 806 receives an indication as to the selected notification mode That is the user enters or selects one of the menu options from the mode menu Selecting one of the menu options causes the system to receive a signal related to the selected menu option Once receive operation 806 receives a selection application operation 808 applies the selected mode to the small computer device While the mode is applied to the device all notifications presented to the user are done so based on the selected mode Additionally the small computer device remains in the selected mode until the system receives another indication to select a different sound mode such as in operation 802 FIG 9 is a flow chart of the operational characteristics ofan alternative embodiment of the present invention related to automatically setting the device into a notification mode In an embodiment of the invention flow 900 only executes when the user has selected automatic profile switching as part of the user preferences Otherwise the automatic notification flow is not performed and the user must manually enter the device into a particular notification profile Alternatively the device 100 may be configured to automatically enter different notification profiles and the user may select to turn off this particular notification preferen
17. er device may incorporate headphone jack not shown for pro viding another means of providing output signals Display 112 is an exemplary display screen that may be shown on display screen 102 Additionally the exemplary display 112 illustrates a mode menu 114 which indicates to the user the current notification mode for the system and which modes are available to the user As discussed in more detail below the user may select a notification mode from menu 114 to switch to other notification modes Although described herein in combination with a small computer device 100 in alternative embodiments the inven tion is used in combination with any number of computer systems such as in desktop environments laptop or notebook computer systems multiprocessor systems micro processor based or programmable consumer electronics network PCs mini computers main frame computers and the like The invention may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote process ing devices that are linked through a communications net work in a distributed computing environment programs may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices In essence any computer system having a plurality of output elements to provide notifications to a user and a plurality of notification event types may incorporate the present inven tion The computer 100 shown in FIG 1 incorporates a system 200 of resources for im
18. eting At 1 00 PM on the day of the meeting the calendar application recognizes that a calendar event has started At this point the calendar application deter mines that a predetermined notification mode has been asso ciated with the event such as at determination operation 902 The calendar application causes through the operating sys tem the small device to be switched into meeting mode such as at operation 904 At 2 00 PM the calendar application recognizes that the meeting has ended and causes through the operating system the small computer device to be switched back into normal mode or whatever mode the device was in prior to the start of the meeting When notification events occur the application or the oper ating system must decide if a particular type of event is presented to the user and the type of notification that should be used That is in one embodiment the application deter mines which mode the device is in and determines based on the mode what type of notification to present to the user In such a case the application provides the operating system with a control signal indicating to execute the notification accord ing to the type of notification stored in the particular profile In an alternative embodiment the application merely con ducts a control to the operating system to present a notifica tion to the user In that case the operating system determines what mode the device is in and presents the notifi
19. fication may not be appropriate the user can effectively turn audible signals off Such a mute button typically works in combination with the speaker at a hardware level A mute button however is not an optimal solution since a user may still want some notifications to be audible For example a user may desire that all notifications be silent while in a meeting except for critical events such as receiving a high priority e mail message As another example a user may want all appointment reminders to be silent but the same user may want email notifications to be audible when waiting for an important email or telephone call from a particular person The mute button does not allow for the distinguishing between different notification events to provide different types of notifications to the user since it essentially turns the speaker off Additionally the mute button only relates to audible sig nals and does not control vibrations or visual type signals that may be inappropriate in certain circumstances Therefore if the user wants to change the appointment reminders from an audible signal to a vibrating signal the mute button is inef fective In such a case the user would have to modify each appointment in the calendar setting the notification type to vibrate Not only is this task cumbersome but it must also be performed each time the environment changes Another drawback associated with using a mute button to control notification types
20. fication type is a vibration 14 A computer system comprising a processor and a memory communicatively coupled to the processor the memory having computer executable instructions that when executed by the processor provide a method for automatically notifying a user of notification events with predetermined notification types depending on the user s environment and stored notification profiles the method comprising operating by a processor in a first notification mode associated with a first set of notification types wherein the first set of notification types comprise a silent notification detecting by the processor a calendar related event determining by the processor whether a second notifi cation mode is associated with the calendar related event wherein the second notification mode is asso ciated with a second set of notification types and where wherein the second set of notification types comprise a tactile or audible notification upon determining that the calendar related event is asso ciated with the second notification mode notifying the user of the calendar related event using the second notification mode wherein notifying comprises send ing a first event reminder and upon determining that the calendar related event is not associated with the second notification mode notify ing the user of the calendar related event using the first notification mode wherein notifying comprises sending a secon
21. gital disks Bernoulli cartridges random access memories read only memories and the like may also be used in the exemplary operating environment Memory devices within the memory system and their associated computer readable media provide non volatile storage of computer readable instructions data structures programs and other data for the computer system The system bus 212 may be any of several types of bus structures such as a memory bus a peripheral bus or a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures The input and output devices are also familiar and are briefly discussed above with respect to FIG 1 Although not shown and in addition to those described above the input device can further comprise a microphone a small keyboard a mouse a wireless communication system a touch pad etc Similarly the output device may further comprise output elements such as a printer a wireless communication system etc Some devices such as a network interface or a modem can be used as input and or output devices The input and output devices are connected to the computer 202 through system buses 212 The computer system 200 further comprises an operating system and usually one or more application programs The operating system comprises a set of programs that control the operation of the system 200 control the allocation of resources provide a graphical user interface to the user facili tate access to local or remote information a
22. ica tion events in the memory of a small computer device wherein the notification events are associated with at least one notification type and notifying a user ofan event according to the stored profile The method may store more than one pro file and each profile is associated with a unique notification mode Additionally a selection method is provided to select US 8 839 273 B2 3 one notification mode and once selected the mode is applied to the small computer device and the device remains in the selected mode until another mode is selected A calendar type application program may generate the selection signal The user is notified of events according to the selected notification mode The invention may be implemented as a computer process a computing system or as an article of manufacture such as a computer program product The computer program product may be a computer storage medium readable by a computer system and encoding a computer program of instructions for executing a computer process The computer program prod uct may also be a propagated signal on a carrier readable by a computing system and encoding a computer program of instructions for executing a computer process A more complete appreciation ofthe present invention and its improvements can be obtained by reference to the accom panying drawings which are briefly summarized below to the following detail description of presently preferred embodiments of the inventi
23. ims hereinafter appended What is claimed is 1 A method for automatically notifying a user of notifica tion events with predetermined notification types depending on the user s environment and stored notification profiles the method comprising operating by a processor in a first notification mode asso ciated with a first set of notification types wherein the first set of notification types comprise a silent notifica tion detecting by the processor a calendar related event determining by the processor whether a second notifica tion mode is associated with the calendar related event wherein the second notification mode is associated with asecond set of notification types and where wherein the second set of notification types comprise a tactile or audible notification upon determining that the calendar related event is associ ated with the second notification mode notifying the user of the calendar related event using the second noti fication mode wherein notifying comprises sending a first event reminder using the second notification mode and upon determining that the calendar related event is not associated with the second notification mode notifying the user of the calendar related event using the first notification mode wherein notifying comprises sending a second event reminder using the first notification mode 2 The method of claim 1 wherein detecting the calendar related event further comprises a
24. is that the user must manually press the mute button when entering a quiet environment i e an environment wherein the user does not want to be audibly notified of events Placing the onus on the user to manually press the mute button increases the probability that the device will not be placed in a non audible mode because users tend to forget such things until an audible signal interrupts the user Thus a mute button is an unsatisfactory solution to handling notifications Itis with respect to these considerations and others that the present invention has been made SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a system and method for notifying users in a manner that is appropriate for the event and the environment for the user The method of the present invention relates to determining the desired properties of an event and assigning varying notification characteristics to that event Profiles are created of the various events wherein each profile relates to a different mode or situational environment such as a meeting environment an office or normal environ ment a louder outside type environment etc The invention further relates to placing the small computer device in a particular mode either automatically or manually Once in a particular mode the device provides notifications according to that mode In accordance with certain aspects the present invention relates to a method of storing at least one profile of notif
25. lay box 704 flash a light by checking light box 706 or to play a sound by checking sound box 708 If the sound box 708 is selected controls 710 are enabled otherwise controls 710 are disabled Controls 710 provide for the management of the types and volume of the sound that is played once a reminder initiates a notifica tion FIG 81s a flow chart of the operational characteristics of an embodiment of the present invention related to setting the device into a notification mode The flow begins when receive operation 802 receives an indication to select a sound mode That is in an embodiment the system is always in a mode and in order to switch the system from the existing mode to a new one the system must receive an indication to this effect For example the user may select a mode selection icon on the US 8 839 273 B2 9 system which indicates to the system that the user desires to change notification modes Alternatively the user could select a menu option related to switching the particular mode of the system In yet other embodiments the user performs other functions in order to indicate to the system that the modes should be switched Once the system receives an indication to switch notifica tion modes display operation 804 displays a mode menu such as mode menu 114 shown in FIG 1 A mode menu displays the available mode options to the user Moreover the menu may provide a visual indication to the user relating to the curr
26. ly many small computing devices provide other means of notification such as by displaying a notification on the display area of the computing device turning on or flashing a light emitting diode LED light or vibrating Typically each event is asso ciated with a particular type of notification and different events often trigger or initiate different types of notifications For example receiving email may cause one sound while appointment reminders may trigger a different sound One particular drawback associated with notifications in small computing devices relates to the appropriateness of the type of notification used as compared with the constantly changing environment for the user That is given the small size of the small computer devices users typically carry them into numerous different situations A particular type of noti fication may be appropriate for one situation yet not for another For example an appointment reminder may be asso 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 2 ciated with a chime type notification that generates an audible signal at a predetermined time The chime may be an appropriate type of notification when the user is alone in an office or at home but may not be appropriate when the user is in a meeting with other people who may also hear the chime One solution to this problem relates to having a mute button on the small computer device so that during situations where a chime noti
27. nd Response mailed Oct 8 2003 7 pages U S Appl No 09 741 571 Final Rejection mailed Jul 13 2007 15 pages U S Appl No 09 741 57 1 Final Rejection mailed Aug 31 2004 11 pages U S Appl No 09 741 571 Final Rejection mailed Oct 20 2005 17 pages U S Appl No 09 741 571 Final Rejection mailed Nov 12 2003 7 pages U S Appl No 09 741 571 Non Final Rejection mailed Jan 8 2007 27 pages U S Appl No 09 741 571 Non Final Rejection mailed Jan 24 N 008 13 pages S Appl No 09 741 571 Non Final Rejection mailed Mar 16 004 9 pages S Appl No 09 741 571 Non Final Rejection mailed Mar 25 005 16 pages S Appl No 09 741 571 Non Final Rejection mailed May 17 006 19 pages S Appl No 09 741 571 Non Final Rejection mailed Jul 22 2003 8 pages S Appl No 09 741 571 Notice of Allowance mailed Jul 24 2008 7 pages S Appl No 09 741 571 Notice of Allowance mailed Oct 24 008 2 pages S Appl No 09 741 571 Supplemental Amendment and Response led Nov 12 2007 14 pages S Appl No 12 265 557 Amendment After Notice of Allowance led Jan 12 2012 2 pages S Appl No 12 265 557 Amendment and Response filed Aug 20 012 3 pages S Appl No 12 265 557 Amendment and Response filed Sep 22 011 9 pages S Appl No 12 265 557 Amendment After Notice of Allowance led Dec 16 2011 2 pages S Appl No 12 265 557 Non Final Rej
28. nd may also include certain utility programs such as a notification module An application program is software that runs on top of the operating system software and uses computer resources made available through the operating system to perform application specific tasks desired by the user In general applications are responsible for generating notifications in accordance with the present invention but the invention may be integrated into the operating system as part of a notification control object for example Exemplary operating systems in which the noti fication system may be integrated with include Microsoft Corporation s Windows for Pocket PC operating system for handheld personal computers Computing device 100 typically includes at least some form of computer readable media Computer readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by 100 By way of example and not limitation computer readable media may comprise computer storage media and communication media Computer storage media includes volatile and non volatile removable and non removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 6 as computer readable instructions data structures program modules or other data Computer storage media includes but is not limited to RAM ROM EEPROM flash memory or other memory technology CD ROM digital versatile disks DVD
29. nterface API 306 300 310 Memory Control Input Output Module Control Module Operating System 206 208 210 U S Patent Sep 16 2014 Sheet 3 of 6 US 8 839 273 B2 Select Notification Mode 402 eo 400 For Given Notification Mode set Volume Levels for Screen Taps Hardware 404 Buttons and Events For Given Notification Mode set Sound Files for Events 406 For Given Notification Mode set Notification Type for Reminders 408 Store Profile for Selected Mode 410 YES Customize Another Notification Mode 412 NO End 414 FIG 4 U S Patent Sep 16 2014 Sheet 4 of 6 US 8 839 273 B2 500 Settings 10 37a Sounds and Reminders 502 sci e E 504 Screen taps 506 Silent Loud Hardware buttons 508 Silent Loud Sounds and events games system events 51 of Show sound icon in Today status bar F G 5 Volume Sounds Reminders __ 512 600 E Settings Sounds and Reminders 2 502 Sound mode 504 Event name Qe Asterisk QE critical Stop Default Sound E Exclamation Qk Infrared Begin E Voice Recording Begin Gt voice Recording End Event sound Preview FIG 6 gt x Sounds Rewinders __ ggj 700 J settings 10 374 Sounds and Reminders 502 Sao 702 504 704 706 Display message _ Play sound 710 FIG 7 U S Patent Sep 16 2014 Sheet 5 of 6 US 8 839 273 B2 pes 800 802 Receive Indication to Select a Notification Mode Display Notification Mode Menu R
30. on and to the appended claims BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG 1 illustrates a small computer device displaying a graphical user interface screen shot incorporating a sound mode icon related to the present invention FIG 2 is block diagram of a computer used in an embodi ment of the present invention such as the computer shown in FIG 1 FIG 3 is a block diagram illustrating a software environ ment in an embodiment of the present invention FIG 4 is a flow diagram illustrating operational flow char acteristics of customizing a notification profile in accordance with the present invention FIGS 5 7 are exemplary displays incorporating aspects of the present invention for creating a profile FIG 8 is a flow diagram showing the operational charac teristics of manually assigning and applying a notification mode for the small computer device shown in FIG 1 FIG 9 is a flow diagram showing the operational charac teristics of automatically assigning and applying a notifica tion mode for the small computer device shown in FIG 1 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION An embodiment of the invention provides control of user notifications for different environments through the use of customized notification profiles Each profile has information related to each type of notification event such as a meeting reminder a button press among others and a corresponding notification type such as an audible chime a visual display
31. on process 400 may be performed for each notification mode Different methods may be employed in order to initiate flow 400 That is the flow 400 may be started by the user through the selection of customization item in a predetermined menu or a customization icon In other embodiments other initiation events are contemplated such as pressing a predetermined button or combination of buttons To begin the select mode operation 402 selects a mode that is to be modified wherein the mode may be named such as meeting normal etc Inone embodiment the selection of a particular mode may be performed using a drop down menu by a user Other embodiments provide for the selection of modes in other manners such as by typing the mode name for example Once a particular mode is selected volume selection operation 404 selects the volume levels for a plurality of different notification events For example the volume levels for screen taps and control button presses may be set by volume selection operation 404 as well as the volume levels for system events e g critical stop and others Typically the user selects these volume levels based on an understand ing of the environments that the particular profile will be used Following volume selection operation 404 set sound opera tion 406 sets the sound files for the various system events Setting the sound files typically involves selecting a system event and assigning a sound file
32. or other optical storage magnetic cassettes magnetic tape magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by 100 Communica tion media typically embodies computer readable instruc tions data structures program modules or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism and includes any information delivery media The term modulated data signal means a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal By way of example and not limitation communication media includes wired media such as a wired network or direct wired connection and wireless media such as acoustic RF infrared and other wire less media Combinations of any of the above should also be included within the scope of computer readable media An exemplary software environment 300 that incorporates aspects of the present invention is shown in FIG 3 Applica tion program 302 is executed to create or edit a notification profile The application program 302 communicates with operating system 304 through an application program inter face 306 In alternative embodiments the application pro gram 302 communicates directly with the operating system 304 Although the embodiment shown in FIG 3 provides application program 302 as the program for customizing noti
33. p As may be appreciated in the illustrated embodiment no volume control is provided for setting the volume level for reminders in this particular display Instead the volume con trol for reminders is provided during the setting of notification types discussed below Alternative embodiments provide for the setting of the volume for reminders as well as from a display similar to display 500 FIG 6 demonstrates the setting of the sound files for the various system events As in FIG 5 the present notification mode is illustrated in text box 502 Setting the sound files for various system events relates to assigning a particular file such as a wav executable file to be executed when the predetermined system event occurs Display 600 provides the graphical user interface display to assign these files FIG 7 illustrates a graphical user interface display 700 for setting notification types to reminder type notifications That is a reminder is a particular type of notification event that is triggered in order to remind the user of something such as a meeting time or a due date for a project for example These reminders are typically associated with a calendar type appli cation program as discussed in more detail below Reminder type notification events may be set using display 700 to trigger different types of notifications For example the reminders may be set to cause vibrations by checking box 702 display a message by checking disp
34. plementing an embodiment of the invention as shown in FIG 2 The system 200 incorporates a computer 202 having at least one central processing unit CPU 204 a memory system 206 an input device 208 and an output device 210 These elements are coupled by at least one system bus 212 US 8 839 273 B2 5 The CPU 204 is of familiar design and includes an Arith metic Logic Unit ALU 214 for performing computations a collection of registers 216 for temporary storage of data and instructions and a control unit 218 for controlling operation of the system 200 The CPU 204 may be a microprocessor having any of a variety of architectures including but not limited to those architectures currently produced by Intel Cyrix AMD IBM and Motorola The system memory 206 comprises a main memory 220 in the form of media such as random access memory RAM and read only memory ROM and may incorporate or be adapted to connect to secondary storage 222 in the form of long term storage mediums such as hard disks floppy disks tape com pact disks CDs flash memory etc and other devices that store data using electrical magnetic optical or other record ing media The main memory 220 may also comprise video display memory for displaying images through the output device 210 such as a display screen The memory can com prise a variety of alternative components having a variety of storage capacities such as magnetic cassettes memory cards video di
35. provide user notifications relating to particular events More particu larly still the present invention relates to algorithms imple mented in determining notification characteristics BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Small handheld computing devices have been steadily growing in popularity in recent years The devices are known by different names such as palmtops pocket computers personal digital assistants personal organizers H PCs or the like Additionally many portable telephone systems such as cellular phones incorporate sufficient computing capabilities to fall within the category of the small handheld computing devices These devices hereinafter small computer devices provide much of the same functionality as their larger counterparts In particular the small computer devices provide users the ability to perform word processing task management spreadsheet processing address book func tions and Internet browsing as well as many other functions Of particular importance to small computer device users is the ability to be notified of various events such as appointment reminders reception of email and in the case of portable phones to be notified of incoming telephone calls and text messages etc Typically notifications may be presented to a user in many different ways For example the notifications may be any number or types of audible signals such as telephone rings sound wave files or other sounds Additional
36. such as a wav file to the system event Again the user typically sets these sound files based on an understanding of the environment for the profile and an understanding of which sound files are recognizable for different notification events Next set reminder operation 408 sets the type or types of notifications to be performed by the small computer device in reminding the user of an event Set reminder operation sets notification types such as vibration sound flashing light or displaying a message to the user to remind the user of an event In an embodiment any one or all may be selected to inform the user of an event depending on the profile More over for a particular profile the user may decide to select no notification types for reminders Following set operation 408 store operation 410 stores a profile for the selected mode Storing the profile involves maintaining a look up table in memory wherein the table lists all events and their associated notification types according to set operations 404 406 and 408 Once the notification types for the reminders have been set and the profile has been stored determination act 412 deter mines whether another notification mode is to be customized 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 8 If not then flow branches NO and the flow 400 ends at end operation 414 Otherwise flow branches YES to select opera tion 402 and flow 400 is repeated Determination act
37. t Notification Mode For Given Notification Mode set Volume Levels for Screen Taps Hardware For Given Notification Mode set Sound Files for Events For Given Notification Mode set Notification Type for Reminders Store Profile for Selectad Mode 58 Field of Classification Search CPC GO6F 15 02 GO6F 9 542 H04M 1 72563 HO4L 67 303 HO4L 69 329 719 318 709 200 203 217 228 700 66 See application file for complete search history 56 References Cited U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 5 760 773 A 5 808 907 A 6 1998 Berman et al 9 1998 Shetty et al Continued FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS EP EP 1029289 1217532 8 2000 6 2002 Continued OTHER PUBLICATIONS Custer Helen Inside Windows NT 1993 pp 74 81 Continued Primary Examiner Haresh N Patel 74 Attorney Agent or Firm Judy Yee Micky Minhas 57 ABSTRACT A system and method for notifying users in a manner that is appropriate for the event and the environment for the user The method of the present invention relates to determining the desired properties of an event and assigning varying noti fication characteristics to that event Profiles are createdofthe various events wherein each profile relates to a different mode or situational environment such as a meeting environ ment an office or normal environment a louder outside type environment etc The invention further relates to placing the small computer device in a particular mode
38. udible notification upon determining that the calendar related event is associ ated with the second notification mode notifying the 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 12 user of the calendar related event using the second noti fication mode wherein notifying comprises sending a first event reminder and upon determining that the calendar related event is not associated with the second notification mode notifying the user of the calendar related event using the first notification mode wherein notifying comprises sending a second event reminder 8 The computer storage medium of claim 7 wherein detecting the calendar related event further comprises access ing a calendar type application capable of storing calendar related events 9 The computer storage medium of claim 8 wherein detecting the calendar related event further comprises reminding the user of upcoming calendar related events scheduled in the calendar type application 10 The computer storage medium of claim 7 wherein the second notification mode is associated with the calendar related event when the event is added 11 The computer storage medium of claim 7 wherein the second notification mode is associated with the calendar related event after the event is added 12 The computer storage medium of claim 7 wherein the calendar related event is a set of appointments 13 The computer storage medium of claim 7 wherein the second noti
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