U.S. patent application number 10/202667 was filed with the patent office on 2003-01-02 for e-mail notification device.
This patent application is currently assigned to DESIGNTECH INTERNATIONAL, INC.. Invention is credited to Gottlieb, Mark M..
Application Number | 20030005051 10/202667 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 23802466 |
Filed Date | 2003-01-02 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030005051 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Gottlieb, Mark M. |
January 2, 2003 |
E-mail notification device
Abstract
A method, system and computer program product for notifying a
user of recently received information while away from the display
connected to the computer. Using a non-commercial, private network,
the information is forwarded from a computer through a transmitter
to a portable receiver with an integrated display. Such information
may be in the form of e-mails, stock quotes, and calendar
alarms.
Inventors: |
Gottlieb, Mark M.; (Fairfax
Station, VA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
OBLON SPIVAK MCCLELLAND MAIER & NEUSTADT PC
FOURTH FLOOR
1755 JEFFERSON DAVIS HIGHWAY
ARLINGTON
VA
22202
US
|
Assignee: |
DESIGNTECH INTERNATIONAL,
INC.
Springfield
VA
|
Family ID: |
23802466 |
Appl. No.: |
10/202667 |
Filed: |
July 25, 2002 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10202667 |
Jul 25, 2002 |
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09453887 |
Feb 29, 2000 |
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6446118 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
709/203 ;
709/206 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04L 51/58 20220501;
H04L 51/224 20220501; G06Q 10/107 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
709/203 ;
709/206 |
International
Class: |
G06F 015/16 |
Claims
1. A computer program product comprising: a computer storage medium
and a computer program code mechanism embedded in the computer
storage medium for causing a computer to forward a portion of a
message to a wireless notification device using a private,
non-commercial network, the computer program code mechanism
comprising: a first computer code device configured to periodically
connect to a remote information server to poll for new messages; a
second computer code device configured to download a portion of
each of the new messages; a third computer code device configured
to transmit, for a subset of the new messages, the portion of the
subset of messages using a private, non-commercial network.
2. The computer program product as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
first computer code device comprises a fourth computer code device
configured to connect to a remote e-mail server, wherein the
message is an e-mail message.
3. The computer program product as claimed in claim 2, wherein the
second computer code device comprises a fifth computer code device
configured to download the e-mail message in its entirety.
4. The computer program product as claimed in claim 2, wherein the
second computer code device comprises a fifth computer code device
configured to download a "From:" field and a "Subject:" field of
the e-mail message.
5. The computer program product as claimed in claim 2, wherein the
second computer code device comprises a fifth computer code device
configured to download a header of the e-mail message.
6. The computer program product as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
first computer code device comprises a fourth computer code device
configured to connect to a remote hypertext transfer protocol
(HTTP) server, wherein the message is a dynamically updated
web-page.
7. The computer program product as claimed in claim 2, wherein the
third computer code device comprises a fifth computer code device
configured to select the subset using at least one of a "From:"
field and a "Subject:" field of the e-mail message.
8. The computer program product as claimed in claim 2, wherein the
third computer code device comprises a fifth computer code device
configured to select all e-mail messages as belonging to the
subset.
9. The computer program product as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
third computer code device comprises a fourth computer code device
configured to transmit the portion of the subset of messages using
at least one of a parallel port, a serial port, a PS/2 port, a USB
port, an audio output port, and an infrared link.
10. The computer program product as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
third computer code device comprises a fourth computer code
configured to transmit the portion of the subset of messages using
a wireless radio frequency.
11. The computer program product as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
third computer code device comprises a fourth computer code
configured to transmit the portion of the subset of messages using
at least one of an X-10 transmitter and a Bluetooth
transmitter.
12. The computer program product as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
first computer code device further comprises a fourth computer code
configured to transmit at least one of calendar events, weather
info, stock quotes, and sports results.
13. The computer program product as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
first computer code device comprises a fourth computer code device
configured to connect to a remote instant messaging server, wherein
the message is a list of people available for participating in
computer-based "chat" conversation.
14. An information notification device comprising: a
non-commercial, private network receiver for receiving information
downloaded by a computer and forwarded from the computer; and a
display for displaying the received information.
15. The information notification device as claimed in claim 14,
wherein the display comprises at least one of a multi-line display
and dot matrix display for displaying at least one line of an
e-mail message.
16. The information notification device as claimed in claim 14,
further comprising an information parsing code device configured to
parse out information fields from the information and display like
information fields together on the display.
17. The information notification device as claimed in claim 16,
wherein the display comprises at least one of a multi-line display
and dot matrix display for displaying at least one line of headers
of plural e-mail messages grouped together.
18. The information notification device as claimed in claim 14,
wherein the display comprises a graphic display.
19. An appliance control system comprising: a communications
adapter for downloading information from a Wide-Area Network; a
first non-commercial, private network transmitter for transmitting
to at least one of a home appliance and an office appliance using
at least one of a power-line carrier and a Bluetooth protocol to
control the at least one of a home appliance and an office
appliance; a microprocessor; and memory configured to control the
microprocessor to control the communications adapter and the
appliance transmitter.
20. The appliance control system as claimed in claim 19, further
comprising a power regulator for regulating power to the at least
one of a home appliance and an office appliance.
21. The appliance control system as claimed in claim 19, further
comprising a sensor receiver for receiving status information from
the at least one of a home appliance and an office appliance.
22. The appliance control system as claimed in claim 21, wherein
the at least one of a home appliance and an office appliance
further comprises a second non-commercial, private network
transmitter for transmitting the status information to the
microprocessor.
23. The appliance control system as claimed in claim 22, further
comprising a sensor having an ID wherein the status information is
transmitted along with the ID of the sensor by the second
non-commercial, private network to the microprocessor.
24. The appliance control system as claimed in claim 22, further
comprising a sensor receiver for receiving the status information
from the sensor.
25. The appliance control system as claimed in claim 19, wherein
the power-line carrier is an X-10 protocol.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. application Ser.
No. 09/453,887, filed Feb. 29, 2000, now allowed, the entire
contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention is directed to a method, system and
computer program product for notifying a user of recently received
e-mails while away from the display connected to the computer.
DISCUSSION OF THE BACKGROUND
[0003] With the proliferation of less expensive computers and
connection costs, an increasing number of people are staying
connected through e-mail. Several Internet standards cover various
techniques for sending, receiving, and forwarding e-mails. Two such
techniques are the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) and the
Post Office Protocol (POP). Those techniques are described in (1)
STD0010 and (2) STD0053, RFC 1939, RFC1957, and RFC2449,
respectively, available at http://www.ietf.org/rfc.- html. The
contents of those STDs and RFCs are incorporated herein by
reference.
[0004] Although e-mail communications are effectively delivered in
an office environment where a user is often at his/her desk, e-mail
communication is less effective for users at home since a user may
be in a different part of the house than the computer. Accordingly,
users frequently go back to their machine to check if an awaited
e-mail has arrived yet. This may result in wasted trips to the
computer and increased anxiety over whether the e-mail has been
received.
[0005] Some users have turned to wireless communication services to
forward e-mails to them when they are not near their computers. One
such communication service uses two-way pagers and the SkyWriter
paging service from SkyTel, a division of MCI WorldCom Company.
(Details of the SkyWriter service can be found at www.skytel.com.)
Although a user's e-mail can be sent to the pager using the
SkyWriter service, one significant drawback is that the service is
provided in exchange for a monthly fee. Such a network supporting
such a fee-based service for multiple members of the public will be
referred to hereinafter as a "commercial, public network."
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] It is an object of the present invention to provide a
wireless e-mail delivery system that does not require a commercial,
public network.
[0007] This object, and other advantages, are provided by a system,
method and computer program product for forwarding e-mail headers
from a private computer to an e-mail notification device.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] A more complete appreciation of the invention and many of
the attendant advantages thereof will become readily apparent with
reference to the following detailed description, particularly when
considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in
which:
[0009] FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a computer for
receiving e-mail to be forwarded to an e-mail notification
device;
[0010] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of how e-mail messages are
forwarded from the computer of FIG. 1 to the e-mail notification
device; and
[0011] FIG. 3 is an illustrative embodiment of an e-mail
notification device of FIG. 2.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0012] Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference
numerals designate identical or corresponding parts throughout the
several views, FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a computer
system for forwarding e-mail messages. A computer 100 implements
the method of the present invention, wherein the computer housing
102 houses a motherboard 104 which contains a CPU 106, memory 108
(e.g., DRAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, SRAM, SDRAM, and Flash RAM), and
other optional special purpose logic devices (e.g., ASICs) or
configurable logic devices (e.g., GAL and reprogrammable FPGA). The
computer 100 also includes plural input devices, (e.g., a keyboard
122 and mouse 124), and a display card 110 for controlling monitor
120. In addition, the computer system 100 further includes a floppy
disk drive 114; other removable media devices (e.g., compact disc
119, tape, and removable magneto-optical media (not shown)); and a
hard disk 112, or other fixed, high density media drives, connected
using an appropriate device bus (e.g., a SCSI bus, an Enhanced IDE
bus, or a Ultra DMA bus). Also connected to the same device bus or
another device bus, the computer 100 may additionally include a
compact disc reader 118, a compact disc reader/writer unit (not
shown) or a compact disc jukebox (not shown). Although compact disc
119 is shown in a CD caddy, the compact disc 119 can be inserted
directly into CD-ROM drives which do not require caddies. In
addition, a printer (not shown) also provides printed listings of
e-mail messages stored on the computer 100 that may be forwarded to
an e-mail notification device (shown in FIG. 2).
[0013] As stated above, the system includes at least one computer
readable medium. Examples of computer readable media are compact
discs 119, hard disks 112, floppy disks, tape, magneto-optical
disks, PROMs (EPROM, EEPROM, Flash EPROM), DRAM, SRAM, SDRAM, etc.
Stored on any one or on a combination of computer readable media,
the present invention includes software for controlling both the
hardware of the computer 100 and for enabling the computer 100 to
interact with a human user. Such software may include, but is not
limited to, device drivers, operating systems and user
applications, such as development tools. Such computer readable
media further includes the computer program product of the present
invention for forwarding e-mail messages. The computer code devices
of the present invention can be any interpreted or executable code
mechanism, including but not limited to scripts, interpreters,
dynamic link libraries, Java classes, and complete executable
programs.
[0014] The computer program product of the present invention is
configured to periodically connect to a user's e-mail account(s) to
determine if new e-mail messages have arrived since a last time
that the computer 100 checked. The period between checks can be
established through a textual interface, through a graphical
interface, or using configuration files. In a preferred embodiment,
the e-mail account is checked regularly (e.g., <30 minutes). In
one embodiment, the computer 100 seizes a phone line, creates a
dial-up connection, and terminates a dial-up connection after the
computer code devices have downloaded the desired information.
(Clearly other connection methods are also possible.) Using this
regular checking provides two advantages. The first advantage is
that the phone line used to call out (and in) is not tied-up
continuously checking for new messages. (For pay-based networks,
this provides the added result that costs are reduced.) The second
advantage is that some systems (e.g., AOL) automatically disconnect
users after a certain amount of inactivity. Thus, the present
invention can reconnect even if disconnected.
[0015] In one embodiment of the present invention, the computer 100
establishes one of a SLIP or a PPP connection through a dial-up
adapter (e.g., a modem) to provide the underlying communication
capabilities. Such a dial-up connection may be made using either a
land-based phone or a cellular phone. In an alternate embodiment,
an "always on" communication channel replaces the dial-up
connection. Examples of an "always on" connection are cable modems
and LAN adapters (e.g., token ring or Ethernet), and typically
communications thereon utilize the Transmission Control Protocol
over the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).
[0016] Once the underlying communication capabilities have been
established, the computer 100 connects to a remote mail server
(e.g., using TCP/IP sockets to connect to a corresponding port on
the remote mail server). Then, the remote mail server is polled for
new e-mail messages according to the protocol(s) supported by the
server. As with the polling period, which server(s) to poll (and in
what order if there are multiple servers) can be established
through a textual interface, through a graphical interface, or
using configuration files. Those servers can be identified by IP
address or name, and the corresponding port can be defined
implicitly based on a specified protocol type (e.g., POP or IMAP)
or explicitly. In addition, for each of the servers, an account
name to use on that server is also specified (along with a
corresponding password, if required).
[0017] Having connected and performed any required authentication,
the computer 100 may begin processing of the messages in the user's
mailbox. In one embodiment, the computer 100 tracks which messages
in the user's mailbox are new. The computer 100 queries the mail
server to determine the number of messages waiting for the user
(e.g., using the STAT command in POP3). This number is compared
against the last known number of messages waiting for the user. In
one embodiment of the present invention, any new messages are
downloaded from the remote server to the computer 100 in their
entirety. In an alternate embodiment, only a subset of each message
is downloaded to the computer. Such an embodiment is beneficial (1)
when using low-bandwidth connections and/or (2) when a message is
not to be stored on the computer 100, but rather is to remain on
the server for later retrieval (potentially at another location).
The number of outstanding messages is updated locally at computer
100 according to whether the new messages were downloaded from the
server or left for later downloading. In a more robust embodiment,
the computer 100 of the present invention also stores other
information (e.g., size in octets and/or unique message IDs) about
the messages stored at the server to ensure that the computer 100
recognizes when the message state on the server has changed. One
scenario where such a change could be missed is when another mail
program downloads a message from the server without contacting the
computer 100 and a subsequent message is received. In that case,
the number of messages would still be correct, but it is unlikely
that the size in octets would the same. Moreover, by definition,
the unique identifiers of those two messages should also be
different.
[0018] In an alternate embodiment, the remote server itself tracks
which messages are new so that the computer 100 can simply ask for
new messages.
[0019] A new type of mail server provided by some commercial
services (e.g., Hotmail.com) is a web-based e-mail service. The
present invention can likewise connect to those types of remote
servers using the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) to download
new e-mail messages.
[0020] Once the messages (or parts thereof) have been downloaded to
the computer 100, portions thereof are forwarded via a transmitter
200 to an e-mail notification device 220. The transmitter 200 can
utilize any one or a combination of (1) RF-based transmission, (2)
optical-based transmissions and (3) power-line-based transmissions
(e.g., using electrical lines or telephone lines). In a preferred
embodiment, however, the transmitter 200 is RF-based. As would be
appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, the transmitter
200 may be implemented as an adapter internal to the computer 100
or as an external communication device connected to the computer
using a serial- (e.g., RS-232 or USB) or parallel-connection.
Alternate embodiments include using PS/2 connections, IR links,
and/or audio jacks to connect the transmitter 200 to the computer
100. The transmitter 200 performs communication with the e-mail
notification device using a "private, non-commercial network." As
used hereinafter, a "private, non-commercial network" is defined as
a network where (1) the transmitter 200 is dedicated to home or
office use for those people having access to the computer 100 and
(2) a periodic fee is not paid to a commercial institution for the
right to send messages. (The term, however, does not exclude paying
a governmental fee for the right to transmit a message, if
required.) In one embodiment of the private, non-commercial
network, the transmitter 200 is a low-power transmitter with a
transmission range of 100 ft. Examples of private, non-commercial
frequencies are provided in 47 CFR 15.1 et seq. In a preferred
embodiment, the transmitter utilizes a frequency in the range of
300-450 MHz, and preferably 312, MHz, 315 MHz, or 433 MHz, but any
frequency is possible. (The contents of section 15 is incorporated
herein by reference.) Moreover, the system can use any modulation
technique, but super-regenerative and super-heterodyne devices are
preferable.
[0021] In one embodiment of the present invention, only a message
header is forwarded from the computer 100 to the e-mail
notification device 220 via the transmitter 200. This reduces the
amount of information that must be received, parsed and stored in
the e-mail notification device 220. One embodiment of the message
header includes the data associated with the "From:" and "Subject:"
fields of the message. As would be appreciated by one of ordinary
skill in the art, data from additional fields can also be sent in
the header as well as other data about the message (e.g., (1) when
the message was downloaded to the computer 100 and (2) the size of
the message).
[0022] As shown in FIG. 3, one embodiment of the e-mail
notification device 220 of the present invention displays only
three columns (i.e., time received, "From:" and "Subject:") from
the header and the other data about the message. Alternate
embodiments may include more or fewer columns and/or characters per
column.
[0023] Various embodiments utilize selected combinations of
features described below. As would be appreciated by one of
ordinary skill in the art, each of the features described herein
can be used independently of the others as memory, processing
power, and cost dictate. Accordingly, the illustrated embodiment is
only exemplary and is not intended to limit the scope of protection
of the claims. Moreover, although buttons are illustrated as
providing fixed functionality, it would be appreciated by one of
ordinary skill in the art from this disclosure that the various
buttons could have functions that change based on the state of the
e-mail notification device. Likewise, in a further embodiment, the
buttons are replaced by a touch screen with context-sensitive
virtual buttons that change with the state of the e-mail
notification device 220.
[0024] As illustrated in FIG. 3, the exemplary e-mail notification
device includes 8 buttons for requesting that the following actions
be performed: Display Menu, Select, Delete, Show Time, Re-Sync,
Alter Contrast, Move Cursor Up, and Move Cursor Down. Having
selected the "Menu" button, a menu is displayed. In one embodiment
the menu is a text list (e.g., scrollable or fixed) of available
options that can be navigated using the cursor keys. In an
alternate embodiment, the menu displays text or icons representing
the buttons and their new functionality based on the state of the
notification device 220.
[0025] The select function can perform either or both of (1)
selecting a previously unselected entry or (2) accepting that a
function be performed on a presently selected entry. The Delete
function discards a message that is stored on the e-mail
notification device 220. The Time function toggles whether the
display shows a general date that a message was received (e.g.,
today, yesterday, or 3 days ago) or a specific time (e.g., Feb. 22,
2000: 10:15 am).
[0026] The re-sync function triggers the notification device 220 to
enter an "always listening" mode for a hardware or software
configurable set of time. As explained in greater detail below,
this ensures that the notification device 220 is not in a power
saving mode when the transmitter 200 transmits to the notification
device 220.
[0027] The Alter Contrast function allows the contrast of the
screen of the e-mail notification device 220 to be altered in
conjunction with the Up and Down arrow keys.
[0028] The Up and Down arrow keys allow various messages and/or
options to be selected from a scrolling list on the screen. If a
desired message has be reached using the Up and Down arrow keys, it
can be deleted using the delete function or opened for reading
using the select key.
[0029] Using the system of FIG. 2, a user of an e-mail notification
device 220 can check e-mails without having to go to his or her
computer. For example, when a user comes home from work and walks
through the kitchen, the user can glance at the e-mail notification
device 220 that would show the headers for the last un-read e-mails
that are waiting for the user.
[0030] In an environment in which multiple users utilize the same
computer 100 or a single user has multiple e-mail accounts, the
computer 100 is configured to correlate e-mail accounts to e-mail
notification devices 220. In this fashion, the headers are
forwarded to the correct recipient and are not disseminated to
extraneous recipients.
[0031] In an alternate embodiment, the e-mail notification device
220 is configured to interact with additional programs (e.g.,
calendar programs) that are run on the computer 100. Accordingly,
any "alarm" set in the calendar program of the computer 100 (or
sent via e-mail from a remote computer 100') can be forwarded to
the computer code device that controls the transmitter 200, thereby
sending the user a reminder about an event. In order to more easily
integrate third-party programs into the computer code devices of
the present invention, one embodiment of the present invention
includes one or more tags to be added to e-mail messages such that
the computer code devices can interpret how to process the message.
For example, by defining a new content-type according to
Multi-purpose Internet Mail Extensions, as defined in RFCs 2045 and
2046 (incorporated herein by reference), the computer code devices
of the present invention can parse a message into parts and process
those parts individually. Accordingly, a third-party program that
wants to have a bitmap sent to a notification device 220 passes an
e-mail to the computer 100 that includes a bitmap and an indication
that the bitmap is part of a notification device message. The
computer 100 would then parse the bit-map from the rest of the
multi-part message after having parsed the content-identifier
indicating that the message is a notification device message. The
computer code device would then send the bit-map to the
notification device 220 with or without the header and with or
instead of a text message.
[0032] Just as a bitmap can be identified and parsed from a
message, so too can other multi-media formats. For example, a voice
message (e.g., stored in a .wav or .mp3 format) can be included in
a message to the notification device 220. The notification device
would then either play the message automatically or upon being
selected like a text message.
[0033] In an alternate embodiment, not all messages and alarms are
sent immediately to the user. As "junk" e-mail proliferates, an
e-mail notification device 220 can quickly become inundated with
e-mail that is of little or no interest to the user. As a result,
the user may establish a set of rules that determines what messages
are to be forwarded and what messages are to be blocked. Rules can
use any field in the information to determine if the information
should be forwarded or blocked. For example, a rule could establish
that messages having "CompanyXYZ" in the "From:" field are to be
forwarded. Likewise, a rule could establish that messages are never
forwarded if the body of the message contains the phrase "Get rich
quick."
[0034] In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, the
types of messages to be received are expanded to include "chat"
messages. A communication category called Instant Messaging
(pioneered by ICQ and now owned by AOL) enables users to know if
people in the users' Messaging Groups are logged in for "chat"
communication. Accordingly, the e-mail notification device 220 can
also display an up-to-date list of people who are ready for
"chatting." Depending on the bandwidth of the non-commercial
network and the processing power of the notification device 220,
the notification device 220 may also receive real-time (or near
real-time) text and/or graphics from an on-going chat session.
[0035] Although the computer 100 and the transmitter 200 are
illustrated in FIG. 2 as being separate elements, an alternate
embodiment, called an "integrated transmitter" integrates both of
those components into a single device. The "integrated transmitter"
periodically connects to an Internet service provider (e.g., by
seizing a phone line and creating a dial-up connection) and polls a
remote information server to determine if new information (e.g.,
e-mails, chat lists or web pages) are available. If so, information
or the headers for that information are downloaded to the
"integrated transmitter" and transmitted to the notification device
220 for viewing by the user.
[0036] The notification device 220 may be either powered by any one
or a combination of: battery/batteries (for ease of
transportation), a transformer, or AC current. In order to conserve
power in the battery-based notification device 220, the transmitter
200 sends out periodic (e.g., once a minute) synchronization
messages that include a time of when the next transmission will be.
Accordingly, the notification device 220 can power down the RF
receiving circuitry therein until that time. To prevent missing the
next transmission due to different clock rates, the notification
device 220 powers back up the RF circuitry a short time (e.g., a
few tens of milliseconds) before the next transmission is scheduled
to occur. If a transmission is not received within a short time
(e.g., a few tens of milliseconds) after the next transmission was
to have occurred, the notification device 220 assumes that it
missed the transmission and puts the RF receiving circuitry back to
sleep until shortly before a subsequent periodic transmission.
Before this subsequent periodic transmission, though, the
notification device 220 wakes up earlier. As an increasing number
of transmissions are missed, the notification device 220 wakes up
increasingly early and stays on increasingly late after the
scheduled time. After a further configurable number of missed
transmissions, the notification device 220 remains on continuously,
listening for transmissions, and eventually shuts down the
transmitter completely after a time-out period (e.g., 5 minutes).
The notification device 220 is then reset to "always on" listening
mode by operation of a manual button (e.g., an on-off button or a
"re-sync" button, described above).
[0037] By way of example, at time t=0, the transmitter 200 sends a
synchronization message to the notification device 220, and in that
message the transmitter 200 indicates that the next synchronization
message will be sent in one minute. Accordingly, the notification
device 220 places the RF receiving circuitry in sleep mode for 0.96
minutes and then wakes up the RF receiving circuitry at time t=0.96
min. The RF receiving circuitry is kept active until t=1.04, at
which point it is powered down because no synchronization message
was received. The RF receiving circuitry is then reawakened at time
t=1.94 min, and the RF receiving circuitry is kept active until
t=2.06. The RF receiving circuitry is then reawakened at time
t=2.92 min. If the RF receiving circuitry has not received a
message by t=3.08, the RF receiving circuitry is left in "always
on" mode for an additional five minutes. After not receiving any
transmission by t=8.08, the RF receiving circuitry of the
notification device 220 is powered down until reset.
[0038] In order to minimize the number of transmitters that
"collide" when sending, in a preferred embodiment a configurable
delay as compared to a base time is used to vary when
synchronization messages are sent. For example, if the base time is
one minute, some transmitters are programmed with a -0.01 minute
delay and others with a 0.01 minute delay such that messages are
sent every 0.99 min and 1.01 minutes, respectively. Thus, even if
those two transmitters collided on the first transmission, they
would be 0.02 minutes apart on their next transmission.
[0039] As would be evident, because the RF receiving circuitry can
be powered down when the computer 100 is ready to send a message,
the computer 100 may need to wait to send a message. The computer
waits until the transmitter indicates (e.g., on a busy line of a
parallel port connection to the transmitter 200) that the time for
a next transmission has occurred. The information is then
transmitted along with an indication of when the next message
(synchronization or text/graphics) will be sent.
[0040] As would be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art
from this specification, other battery-based remote
transmitter/receiver pairs can benefit from the synchronization
technique described above. One such pair is an indoor/outdoor
temperature sensing device system in which a transmitter
periodically sends an outside temperature to a temperature receiver
(similar to the notification device 220), and the temperature
receiver sleeps between receiving temperature messages.
[0041] In an embodiment in which two-way communication is to be
used, the private, non-commercial network can be used for
communication between the computer 100 and the notification device
220 in both directions. In that embodiment, e-mail replies can be
sent to the computer 100 which then forwards the reply to the
remote server.
[0042] Many smart home systems utilize (or will soon utilize) power
line carrier communication (e.g., X-10) or Blue-tooth communication
which allow control of appliances (e.g., lamps) throughout the home
through the home wiring and via radio signals. In an alternative
embodiment, the system of the present invention sends message
headers or messages from the transmitter 200 to an appliance
receiver. The appliance receiver then interprets the messages or
headers to be commands to control lights and appliances in the
home. More specifically, a user at the office can send an e-mail to
his home e-mail account with a command to turn ON a specified lamp
or other appliance. The computer would recognize such a new e-mail
with such a command in the subject header and send the appropriate
command (potentially translated) to an X-10 transmitter that
applies the necessary X-10 signals on the home wiring. Similarly, a
Blue-tooth type translator and transmitter could send the commands
via radio frequency to an appliance to respond according to the
command.
[0043] As the smart home category grows, more and more appliances
and sensors will have the capability to communicate back to another
device. The system of the present invention may advantageously
utilize two way communication (e.g., using RF, IR, X-10 or
Blue-tooth type protocols). An interface to the home wiring or an
interface looking at a certain radio signal system could determine
that something has happened (i.e. a door open) and translate this
into a signal that the receiver (which would be plugged into the
computer's port) would translate into an e-mail message that could
be sent to any pre-determined address--notifying the recipient of
the action that occurred at the home.
[0044] Obviously, numerous additional modifications and variations
of the present invention are possible in light of the above
teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope
of the appended claims, the present invention may be practiced
otherwise than as specifically described herein.
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References