U.S. patent application number 16/585485 was filed with the patent office on 2020-01-23 for notifying a user of events in a computing device.
The applicant listed for this patent is QUALCOMM Incorporated. Invention is credited to Richard R. Dellinger, Matias Duarte, Jeremy Lyon, Paul Mercer, Daniel Shiplacoff.
Application Number | 20200028959 16/585485 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 41722196 |
Filed Date | 2020-01-23 |
View All Diagrams
United States Patent
Application |
20200028959 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Duarte; Matias ; et
al. |
January 23, 2020 |
NOTIFYING A USER OF EVENTS IN A COMPUTING DEVICE
Abstract
A user of a mobile computing device may provide a first user
preference for a first type of event and a second user preference
for a second type of event, and the mobile computing device may
detect an event comprising reception of the first type of event or
the second type of event. The mobile computing device may present,
along an edge of a touch-sensitive display of the mobile computing
device, a banner alert in response to detecting the first type of
event, and may present, on the touch-sensitive display, a pop-up
notification in response to detecting the second type of event. The
mobile device may dismiss the banner alert based on a user swiping
the banner alert off the touch-sensitive display.
Inventors: |
Duarte; Matias; (Sunnyvale,
CA) ; Shiplacoff; Daniel; (Los Angeles, CA) ;
Lyon; Jeremy; (Sunnyvale, CA) ; Mercer; Paul;
(Palo Alto, CA) ; Dellinger; Richard R.; (San
Jose, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
QUALCOMM Incorporated |
San Diego |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
41722196 |
Appl. No.: |
16/585485 |
Filed: |
September 27, 2019 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
15610298 |
May 31, 2017 |
10462279 |
|
|
16585485 |
|
|
|
|
12200782 |
Aug 28, 2008 |
10375223 |
|
|
15610298 |
|
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04M 1/72552 20130101;
G06F 3/0484 20130101; G06F 3/0481 20130101; G06F 2203/04803
20130101 |
International
Class: |
H04M 1/725 20060101
H04M001/725; G06F 3/0481 20060101 G06F003/0481; G06F 3/0484
20060101 G06F003/0484 |
Claims
1. A method performed by one or more processors of a mobile
computing device, comprising: receiving a first user preference for
a first type of event and a second user preference for a second
type of event, wherein the first type of event is one of a text
message and an email and the second type of event is the other of
the text message and the email; detecting an event comprising
reception of the first type of event or the second type of event;
presenting, along an edge of a touch-sensitive display of the
mobile computing device, a banner alert in response to detecting
the first type of event; presenting, on the touch-sensitive display
of the mobile computing device, a pop-up notification in response
to detecting the second type of event, wherein the pop-up
notification is of a different notification type than the banner
alert; and dismissing the banner alert based on a user swiping the
banner alert off the touch-sensitive display.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of and claims priority to
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/610,298 entitled "NOTIFYING A
USER OF EVENTS IN A COMPUTING DEVICE" filed on May 31, 2017, which
is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. patent application
Ser. No. 12/200,782 entitled "NOTIFYING A USER OF EVENTS IN A
COMPUTING DEVICE" filed on Aug. 28, 2008, all assigned to the
assignee hereof. The disclosures of all prior Applications are
considered part of and are incorporated by reference in this patent
application.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] In various embodiments, the present invention relates to a
user interface for a computing device, and more particularly to
systems and methods for notifying a user of events in such a
computing device.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
[0003] It is often necessary or useful to inform a user of an event
that takes place while a user is using a computing device. Some
events require immediate action, warranting interruption of
whatever task the user is performing at the time the event occurs.
An example is an incoming telephone call or a low-power warning on
a battery-powered computing device. Other events are less critical
so that the user may wish to be informed of the event without being
interrupted in the task being performed. An example is receipt of
an email message while the user is engaged in another task.
[0004] Conventional user interfaces provide several mechanisms for
informing users of events. Often, such mechanisms include visual
elements such as dialog boxes that appear on a display screen,
obscuring or partially obscuring the document or other item the
user is working on. Users often find such notifications intrusive
and distracting. In addition, users often dismiss such
notifications without paying them the appropriate level of
attention, because the user is focused on some other task. Later,
when the user wishes to revisit the notification so as to respond
to it more appropriately, it is often difficult or impossible to do
so, since the notification has already been dismissed.
[0005] Some user activities are interruptible upon receipt of an
event notification. However, in many cases, a user may wish to
easily resume the activity after he or she has reviewed the event
notification and/or taken appropriate action. For example, if a
user is on a telephone call when an event notification is
presented, the user will generally want to resume the telephone
call after viewing the event notification.
[0006] Devices having small screens, such as mobile devices
including cellular telephones, handheld computers, personal digital
assistants, smartphones, music players, and the like, often present
particular problems in event notification. The limited screen sizes
of such devices provide fewer options for visual notification of
events. In addition, in such devices, the entire screen is often
devoted to a single application, document message, task, or
activity, so as to make the most effective use of the extremely
limited amount of space available. Accordingly, users of such
devices are often subject to even more intrusive event
notifications that tend to obscure a greater proportion of the
display area being used for the task at hand. These event
notifications can make it difficult for users to respond
appropriately to the event and can also make it difficult for users
to return to the task they were performing before the event
occurred. Accordingly, conventional event notifications often have
an adverse effect on user productivity and diminish the quality of
the user experience.
[0007] What is needed is a system and method for notifying a user
of an event in a computing device in an unobtrusive way that
minimizes task interruption and is effective for a device having a
small screen. What is further needed is a system and method that
provides different types of event notifications depending on the
urgency with which the user must respond to the notification. What
is further needed is a system and method that allows a user to
easily continue performing a task after an event notification is
received. What is further needed is a system and method that
informs a user of an event but allows the user to continue
performing a task and to view the notification in more detail at a
later time, if desired.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] According to various embodiments of the present invention, a
mechanism is provided for notifying a user of events in a computing
device. Event notifications take the form of alerts that can be
presented in different ways. The particular form of each event
notification depends on the nature of the event the user task being
performed at the time the event occurs, the user's preferences, or
any combination thereof. The systems and methods of the present
invention, according to various embodiments, are particularly well
suited to devices having small screens, as they minimize the
obtrusiveness of event notifications on such screens. However, one
skilled in the art will recognize that the systems and methods of
the present invention, according to various embodiments, can be
used for presenting event notifications in any electronic device
having any type of visual display.
[0009] In one embodiment, the present invention presents event
notifications in the form of banner alerts. Obtrusiveness is
minimized by presenting the notification at a location near the
edge of the screen (such as a bottom edge), and slightly shrinking
the active display area to make room for the event notification. In
this manner, event notifications can be presented without obscuring
any part of the active display area. In addition, the user can
obtain more information about the event by activating the
notification (for example by tapping on it).
[0010] In another embodiment, the present invention provides pop-up
notifications, such as dialog boxes, for more urgent events. Again,
the active display area can be reduced in size to allow the user to
directly interact with the event notification.
[0011] According to one embodiment the event notifications of the
present invention are unobtrusive and allow the user the continue
working in the active display area while ignoring the notification,
if desired.
[0012] In another embodiment, the present invention provides a
summary of pending event notifications. Thus, if the user is unable
to (or does not wish to) respond to or acknowledge a notification
when it is presented, the user can later view the event
notification summary at his or her convenience, and can act on the
event notifications at that time.
[0013] In another aspect, certain notifications are automatically
dismissed after some period of time. Other notifications may
persist but be relegated to a notification summary that can later
be expanded by the user to view individual notifications at his or
her convenience. The behavior of notifications can depend on user
preferences, event type, current user activity, and/or another
factors.
[0014] Additional features and advantages will become apparent in
the description provided below.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] The accompanying drawings illustrate several embodiments of
the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain
the principles of the invention according to the embodiments. One
skilled in the art will recognize that the particular embodiments
illustrated in the drawings are merely exemplary, and are not
intended to limit the scope of the present invention.
[0016] FIGS. 1A through 1C depict an example of an event
notification presented as a banner along the bottom edge of a
display screen, according to one embodiment of the present
invention.
[0017] FIGS. 2A through 2C depict an example of an event
notification being dismissed upon expiration, and an example of an
event notification being over-written by a new notification,
according to embodiments of the present invention.
[0018] FIGS. 3A through 3C depict an example of a persistent event
notification and an expandable event notification summary,
according to embodiments of the present invention.
[0019] FIGS. 3D through 3E depict an example of a transitory event
notification being overwritten by an expandable event notification
summary, according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0020] FIG. 3F depicts an example of an event notification summary
in an expanded state, according to an embodiment of the present
invention.
[0021] FIG. 3G depicts an example of an application being invoked
from an event notification summary, according to an embodiment of
the present invention.
[0022] FIG. 4A depicts an example of an event notification summary
including a high-priority pending event according to an embodiment
of the present invention.
[0023] FIG. 4B depicts an example of an expanded event notification
summary including a high-priority pending event according to an
embodiment of the present invention.
[0024] FIG. 5 depicts a flow diagram depicting a method for
displaying and dismissing event notifications and/or event
summaries according to one embodiment.
[0025] FIG. 6 depicts a method for displaying a new event
notification when a previous event notification is being displayed,
according to one embodiment.
[0026] FIG. 7 depicts a method for displaying a new event
notification when an event summary is being displayed, according to
one embodiment.
[0027] FIG. 8 depicts a method for activating an item in an event
summary according to one embodiment.
[0028] FIG. 9 depicts a method for displaying a new event
notification when a previous event notification having a minimum
display time is being displayed, according to one embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
System Architecture
[0029] According to various embodiments, the present invention can
be implemented on any electronic device, such as a handheld
computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), personal computer,
kiosk, cellular telephone, and the like. For example, in various
embodiments, the invention can be implemented as a feature of a
software application or operating system running on such a device.
Accordingly, in various embodiments, the present invention can be
implemented as part of a graphical user interface for controlling
and interacting with software on such a device.
[0030] In various embodiments, the invention is particularly
well-suited to devices such as smartphones, handheld computers, and
PDAs, which have limited screen space and which are capable of
running several software applications concurrently. One skilled in
the art will recognize, however, that in other embodiments the
invention can be practiced in other contexts, including any
environment in which it is useful to provide event notifications to
a user. Accordingly, the following description is intended to
illustrate various embodiments of the invention by way of example,
rather than to limit the scope of the claimed invention.
[0031] Referring now to FIGS. 1A through 1C there is shown an
example of an event notification 103 presented as a banner along
the bottom edge of a display screen 101 of a device, according to
one embodiment of the present invention.
[0032] In one embodiment screen 101 is touch-sensitive, so that a
user can interact with applications, notifications, and other items
by touching various locations on screen 101. Touch-sensitive screen
101 can be implemented using any technology that is capable of
detecting a location of contact. In another embodiment, a user can
interact with on-screen items by way of a keyboard and/or pointing
device such as a trackball, roller switch, stylus, touchpad, mouse,
or the like. In one embodiment, the device on which screen 101 is
presented also includes a touch-sensitive gesture area (not shown)
for entering gesture-based commands.
[0033] Screen 101 may be a component of a personal digital
assistant smartphone, or any other electronic device. Such devices
commonly have telephone, email, and text messaging capability, and
may perform other functions including, for example, playing music
and/or video, surfing the web, running productivity applications,
and the like. In various embodiments, the present invention can be
implemented in any type of electronic device having a display
screen, and is not limited to devices having the listed
functionality. In addition, the particular layout shown in the
Figures is merely exemplary and is not intended to be restrictive
of the scope of the claimed invention.
[0034] FIG. 1A depicts screen with an active display area 102 for
an application occupying substantially the entire screen 101.
Active display area 102 is blank in FIG. 1A; however, in actual
use, active display area 102 would contain content and/or
application elements relevant to the task at hand. One skilled in
the art will recognize that in various embodiments, the present
invention can also be implemented in a multi-window context or
other environment where display areas for more than one application
are shown concurrently on screen 101. Status bar 105 is also shown,
including information such as current time, battery strength,
signal strength, enabled services, and the like; however, status
bar 105 is not needed for the present invention.
[0035] FIG. 1B depicts screen 101 when an event has taken place.
Event notification 103 is displayed along the bottom edge of screen
101. One skilled in the art will recognize that event notification
103 can be displayed 501 at any location on screen 101; however,
showing event notification 103 along one of the edges of screen 101
is advantageous because it is relatively unobtrusive. Active
display area 102 is slightly reduced in size by scaling its
contents to make room for event notification 103. Thus, none of the
content of display area 102 is obscured; rather, it is merely
resized to provide room for event notification 103. In an
alternative embodiment, active display area 102 is not resized, but
a portion of area 102 is obscured by event notification 103. Event
notification 103 can be made translucent if desired, so that the
obscured portion of display area 102 is still visible behind
notification 103.
[0036] In the example of FIG. 1B, event notification 103 is an
alert notifying the user of an incoming text message. Some or all
of the text message can be displayed. One skilled in the art will
recognize that event notification 103 can be of any type.
[0037] If the user activates event notification 103, for example by
tapping on it, an application relevant to notification 103 is
invoked. For example, FIG. 1C depicts a text messaging application
104 being invoked in response to a user tapping on event
notification 103 of FIG. 1B that showed a text message. In one
embodiment, invoking the application 104 causes the remaining
portion of the text message (or other content) to be displayed. In
addition, the application may provide the user with various options
for interacting with, saving, deleting, flagging, and/or responding
to the message.
[0038] FIG. 1C depicts application 104 in the midst of a transition
where its window is being opened. In one embodiment, application
104 occupies the entire screen 101 once invoked. In another
embodiment, application 104 occupies a portion of screen 101, while
the remaining portion of screen 101 is still occupied by area
102.
[0039] As shown in FIG. 1C event notification 103 is dismissed when
application 104 is invoked. In another embodiment, event
notification 103 may remain on screen 101 even after application
104 is invoked.
[0040] Referring now to FIGS. 2A and 2B, there is shown an example
of an event notification 103A being dismissed upon expiration. In
FIG. 2A an event notification 103A is shown, alerting the user that
the battery is at 30%. As before, display area 102 and its contents
are reduced in size to allow for the display of event notification
103A. In one embodiment, after some time period has elapsed since
event notification 103A is displayed, event notification 103A is
automatically dismissed. Display area 102 and its contents return
to their original sizes.
[0041] Referring now to FIGS. 2A and 2C there is shown an example
of an event notification 103A being replaced by a new event
notification 103C. For example, if event notification 103A is being
displayed, as in FIG. 2A, when another event takes place, a new
event notification 103B, as shown in FIG. 2C may replace the
previously displayed event notification 103A.
[0042] In one embodiment, some event notifications are prioritized
with respect to other event notifications. Thus, if an event
notification 103 is being displayed when a higher-priority event
takes place, the new event notification 103 may replace the
previous event notification 103. But if an event notification 103
is being displayed when a lower-priority event takes place, the new
event notification 103 may be handled differently: it may not be
displayed at alt or its display may be postponed until the first
event notification 103 is dismissed by the user or otherwise
disposed or the two event notifications 103 may be displayed
concurrently. Alternatively, an event notification summary may be
shown, as described in more detail below. In one embodiment, the
relative priorities of the events can be configured by a system
administrator and/or by the originator of the event. The specific
handling of overlapping event notifications can be configured by a
system administrator and/or by the user. Thus, for example, some
event notifications can be configured to expire after some period
of time, while others may be configured to be persistent so that
they continue to be displayed until dismissed by the user. In
addition, some event notifications can be configured to be replaced
if a newer event notification is to be presented, while other event
notifications can be configured to be postponed if a previous event
notification is being displayed.
[0043] Referring now to FIGS. 3A through 3C there is shown an
example of a persistent event notification 103C and an expandable
event notification summary 301, according to embodiments of the
present invention. FIG. 3A shows an initial state, where display
area 102 occupies substantially the entire display screen 101. In
FIG. 3B, event notification 103C is displayed; as described above,
display area 102 can optionally be reduced in size to make room for
notification 103C. In the example of FIG. 3B, event notification
103C represents an incoming email message.
[0044] In some embodiments, some event notifications, such as 103C
are persistent. These may represent events that the user would not
want to miss, such as for example an incoming email message. Thus,
in one embodiment when a persistent event notification 103C
expires, or when a new event notification is to be displayed while
a persistent event notification 103C is being displayed, an event
summary 301 is displayed. Event summary 301 includes a series of
icons 302 indicating event notifications 103 that have been
received and/or presented. In one embodiment, event summary 301
provides abbreviated information concerning the events that have
taken place, so as to occupy minimal space on display 101. For
example, as shown in FIG. 3C event summary 301 may contain an icon
302 for each type of event that has occurred, wherein each icon 302
is superimposed by a numeric indicator of the number of pending
events of that type. In the example, icons 302 indicate that
fourteen incoming email messages, five text messages, and three
missed telephone calls have been received. One skilled in the art
will recognize that event summary 301 can take many other
forms.
[0045] Event summary 301 thus provides a mechanism for informing
the user of a number of important events that have taken place,
even if the user is not able to (or chooses not to) respond or
dispose of each event notification 103 as it is individually
presented.
[0046] In one embodiment, if a new event takes place while event
summary 301 is being displayed, the new event notification may
overwrite event summary. Referring now to FIG. 3D, there is shown
an example of new event notification 103D that overwrites
previously displayed even summary 301. Once event notification 103D
expires or is disposed of by the user, event summary 301 is again
displayed, as shown in FIG. 3E. Note that in event summary 301 of
FIG. 3E, the number of incoming text messages has been incremented
from 3 to 4, to indicate the additional new text message of event
notification 103D.
[0047] In one embodiment, event summary 301 is expandable. The user
can tap (or otherwise activate) event summary 301 to cause it to
expand. Referring now to FIG. 3F, there is shown an expanded
version 303 of event summary 301. In one embodiment, the expanded
version 303 obscures part of display area 102. In another
embodiment, display area 102 is further reduced in size to make
room for the expanded version 303 of event summary 301.
[0048] The expanded version 303 explicitly indicates the number of
events of each type. The user can tap on any item in the expanded
version 303 to invoke the corresponding application. Referring now
to FIG. 3G, there is shown an example of a text application 104
being invoked in response to the user tapping on the portion of the
expanded version 303 that refers to text messages. As with the
example shown in FIG. 1C application 104 is shown in the midst of a
transition where its window is being opened. In one embodiment,
application 104 occupies the entire screen 101 once invoked. In
another embodiment, application 104 occupies a portion of screen
101, while the remaining portion of screen 101 is still occupied by
area 102.
[0049] In one embodiment, the user can dismiss the expanded version
303 of event summary 301 to return to the normal view as shown in
FIG. 3E. In one embodiment, the expanded version 303 is
automatically dismissed after some period of time, so that display
303 reverts to the normal view as shown in FIG. 3E.
[0050] In one embodiment, a highest-priority event is shown more
prominently within event summary 301 than other events. For
example, an ongoing telephone call may be such an event and is
therefore given more space within event summary 301 than other
events. Referring now to FIG. 4A, there is shown example of an
event notification summary 301 including a high-priority pending
event 401, according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Event 401 is an ongoing telephone call and therefore warrants a
more detailed display than the remaining items which are shown as
icons 302 in summary 301. Accordingly, event 401 is shown with a
more complete description. Remaining icons 302 represent a paused
song, and indicators of the number of email messages received, text
messages received, and telephone calls received. Since there is
insufficient space to show the full name of the party on the
telephone call an ellipsis is used as part of event 401.
[0051] FIG. 4B depicts an expanded version 303 of the event summary
301 shown in FIG. 4A, including a more complete depiction of
high-priority pending event 401.
[0052] In one embodiment, high-priority event notifications are
directly manipulable by the user. For example, if a telephone call
is received while the user is working on a task within display area
102, event notification 103 is shown. The user can ignore event
notification 103 and continue working in display area 102; if so,
event notification 103 will eventually be dismissed or relegated to
event summary 301. An ignore button (not shown) can optionally be
provided to allow the user to indicate that he or she is not
interested in taking the telephone call. Alternatively, the user
can answer the telephone call for example by tapping on event
notification 103. The telephone application is then invoked, taking
over entire screen 101 or some portion thereof to allow easier
interaction therewith. During the telephone call the user can
minimize the telephone application, so that the telephone call
event is shown as an event notification 103 or as part of an event
summary 301 (depending on whether other events are also
pending).
[0053] In one embodiment, the user can also dismiss an event for
example to end a telephone call by swiping the corresponding event
notification 103 off the screen 101.
[0054] In one embodiment, events are shown on a secondary screen or
a portion of a secondary screen. Thus, in a device having two or
more display screens, the system of the present invention can in
one embodiment reconfigure a display area of any of the display
screens in order to make room for display of an event or event
summary as described herein. This is particularly useful in devices
having a primary and an auxiliary display screen. The selection of
which screen to use for display of an event can be made
automatically based on current status of the display screens,
importance of the event other currently displayed events and status
messages, and the like.
[0055] Referring now to FIGS. 5 through 8, there are shown flow
diagram depicting methods for practicing the present invention
according to one embodiment.
[0056] FIG. 5 depicts a method for displaying and dismissing event
notifications and/or event summaries according to one embodiment.
An event notification 103 is displayed 501, as depicted in FIG. 1B.
As described above, active display area 102 may be reduced in size
slightly to provide room for event notification 103. If the user
activates 502 the event notification 103, the corresponding
application is invoked 503, as depicted in FIG. 1C. If event
notification 103 expires or is dismissed 504, a determination is
made 505 as to whether event notification 103 is persistent. If it
is not persistent it is removed 506 from the screen, as depicted in
FIG. 2B. If it is persistent an event summary 301 is displayed 507,
as depicted in FIG. 3C.
[0057] FIG. 6 depicts a method for displaying a new event
notification 103B when a previous event notification 103A is being
displayed, according to one embodiment. An event notification 103A
is displayed 601, as depicted in FIG. 2A. A new event occurs 602. A
determination is made 603 as to whether the displayed notification
103A is persistent. If not, the new event notification 103B
replaces 605 the previous event notification 103A, as depicted in
FIG. 2C.
[0058] If, in 603, the displayed event notification 103A is
persistent and if no user action has been taken on the displayed
event notification 103A, the event summary 301 is displayed 604, as
depicted in FIG. 3C.
[0059] FIG. 9 depicts a method for displaying a new event
notification when a previous event notification having a minimum
display time is being displayed, according to one embodiment. In
this embodiment, the new event notification 103B does not replace
the previous event notification 103A until the previous event
notification 103A has been displayed for a specified minimum time
period. The minimum time period can be a predetermined global
parameter, or it may be specific to the event notification 103A. In
one embodiment, the event notification 103A is displayed for at
least the minimum time period, but may be displayed longer if no
subsequent event notifications 103B are ready for display. In one
embodiment, a user can dismiss the event notification 103A prior to
expiry of the time period, in which case a new event notification
103B can be displayed subsequent to the dismissal.
[0060] In one embodiment, an exception is made if the subsequent
event notification 103B is from the same applet or application and
overwrites or updates the information contained in the previous
event notification 103A. In such a case, the subsequent event
notification 103B can replace the previous event notification 103A
without waiting the minimum time period. For example, a message
saying "You have 3 new messages" can be replaced by a message
saying "You have 4 new messages" without waiting the minimum time
period.
[0061] Thus, as shown in FIG. 9, an event notification 103A is
displayed 901. A new event occurs 902. A determination is made 903
as to whether the new event is an update or overwrite for the
previous event. If so, the new event notification 103B replaces 905
the previous event notification 103A. If the new event is not an
update or overwrite, a determination is made 904 as to whether the
minimum display time for the event notification 103A has passed. If
so, the new event notification 103B replaces 905 the previous event
notification 103A.
[0062] If the new event is not an update or overwrite for the
previous event and if the minimum display time for the event
notification 103A has not passed, an event summary 301 is displayed
906.
[0063] FIG. 7 depicts a method for displaying a new event
notification 103D when an event summary 301 is being displayed,
according to one embodiment. Event summary 301 is displayed 701, as
depicted in FIG. 3C. A new event occurs 702. An event notification
103D is displayed 703 for the new event as depicted in FIG. 3D. If
the user activates 704 the event notification 103D, the
corresponding application is invoked 705. If the user does not
activate the event notification 103D, once the event notification
103D expires or is dismissed 706, event summary 301 is again
displayed 707, as depicted in FIG. 3E. Event summary 301 now
incorporates information for the new event.
[0064] FIG. 8 depicts a method for activating an item in an event
summary according to one embodiment. An event summary 301 is
displayed 801, as depicted in FIG. 3E. The user activates 802 event
summary 301. Event summary 301 is expanded 803, to show expanded
version 303 as depicted in FIG. 3F. If the user activates 804 an
item in expanded event summary 303, the corresponding application
104 is invoked 805, as depicted in FIG. 3G. If the user does not
activate an item in expanded event summary 303, event summary
collapses 806, for example after some period of time (or after the
user enters a command to collapse it), to its original state as
depicted in FIG. 3E.
[0065] In one embodiment, the present invention can be used to
allow a user to monitor status of a persistent set of data that is
of interest. Thus, while the user is engaged in some activity on a
device, he or she can use the techniques of the present invention
according to various embodiments to monitor status of some set of
data, such as an inbox, battery life, signal strength, or the like.
Updates to the data can be presented according to the techniques of
the present invention.
[0066] The present invention has been described in particular
detail with respect to one possible embodiment. Those of skill in
the art will appreciate that the invention may be practiced in
other embodiments. First, the particular naming of the components,
capitalization of terms, the attributes, data structures, or any
other programming or structural aspect is not mandatory or
significant and the mechanisms that implement the invention or its
features may have different names, formats, or protocols. Further,
the system may be implemented via a combination of hardware and
software, as described, or entirely in hardware elements, or
entirely in software elements. Also, the particular division of
functionality between the various system components described
herein is merely exemplary, and not mandatory; functions performed
by a single system component may instead be performed by multiple
components, and functions performed by multiple components may
instead be performed by a single component.
[0067] Reference herein to "one embodiment", "an embodiment", or to
"one or more embodiments" means that a particular feature,
structure, or characteristic described in connection with the
embodiments is included in at least one embodiment of the
invention. Further, it is noted that instances of the phrase "in
one embodiment" herein are not necessarily all referring to the
same embodiment.
[0068] Some portions of the above are presented in terms of
algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bits
within a computer memory. These algorithmic descriptions and
representations are the means used by those skilled in the data
processing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their
work to others skilled in the art. An algorithm is here, and
generally, conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of steps
(instructions) leading to a desired result. The steps are those
requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually,
though not necessarily, these quantities take the form of
electrical magnetic or optical signals capable of being stored,
transferred, combined, compared and otherwise manipulated. It is
convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to
refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols,
characters, terms, numbers, or the like. Furthermore, it is also
convenient at times, to refer to certain arrangements of steps
requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities as modules
or code devices, without loss of generality.
[0069] It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and
similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical
quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these
quantities. Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from
the following discussion, it is appreciated that throughout the
description, discussions utilizing terms such as "processing" or
"computing" or "calculating" or "displaying" or "determining" or
the like, refer to the action and processes of a computer system,
or similar electronic computing module and/or device, that
manipulates and transforms data represented as physical
(electronic) quantities within the computer system memories or
registers or other such information storage, transmission or
display devices.
[0070] Certain aspects of the present invention include process
steps and instructions described herein in the form of an
algorithm. It should be noted that the process steps and
instructions of the present invention can be embodied in software,
firmware or hardware, and when embodied in software, can be
downloaded to reside on and be operated from different platforms
used by a variety of operating systems.
[0071] The present invention also relates to an apparatus for
performing the operations herein. This apparatus may be specially
constructed for the required purposes, or it may comprise a
general-purpose computer selectively activated or reconfigured by a
computer program stored in the computer. Such a computer program
may be stored in a computer readable storage medium, such as, but
is not limited to, any type of disk including floppy disks, optical
disks, CD-ROMs, magnetic-optical disks, read-only memories (ROMs),
random access memories (RAMs), EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic or optical
cards, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or any
type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions, and
each coupled to a computer system bus. Further, the computers
referred to herein may include a single processor or may be
architectures employing multiple processor designs for increased
computing capability.
[0072] The algorithms and displays presented herein are not
inherently related to any particular computer, virtualized system,
or other apparatus. Various general-purpose systems may also be
used with programs in accordance with the teachings herein, or it
may prove convenient to construct more specialized apparatus to
perform the required method steps. The required structure for a
variety of these systems will be apparent from the description
above. In addition, the present invention is not described with
reference to any particular programming language. It will be
appreciated that a variety of programming languages may be used to
implement the teachings of the present invention as described
herein, and any references above to specific languages are provided
for disclosure of enablement and best mode of the present
invention.
[0073] While the invention has been described with respect to a
limited number of embodiments, those skilled in the art having
benefit of the above description, will appreciate that other
embodiments may be devised which do not depart from the scope of
the present invention as described herein. In addition, it should
be noted that the language used in the specification has been
principally selected for readability and instructional purposes,
and may not have been selected to delineate or circumscribe the
inventive subject matter. Accordingly, the disclosure of the
present invention is intended to be illustrative, but not limiting,
of the scope of the invention, which is set forth in the
claims.
* * * * *