Cross-device integration system and method

• US 10,243,891 B2
• Filed: 08/14/2014
• Issued: 03/26/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Yahoo Assets LLC
• Original Assignee: Oath Inc. (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Rao, Supreeth, Vasudevan, Sudharsan, Kamath, Seema, Patel, Swapnil, Shrivastava, Utkarsh, Bhagwan, Varun, Kurapati, Kaushal, Mason, Patrick
• Primary Examiner(s): Theriault, Steven B
• Application Number:
  US14/460,016
• Publication Number:
  US 20160050254A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,685 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/42 Mailbox-related aspects, e.g. synchronisation of mailboxes

Abstract

A cross-device messaging integration capability is disclosed, which allows a user using a first device to indicate, using a first user computing device, an intent to perform one or more messaging actions at one or more second user computing device(s). The first and second devices may be different devices. The user may receive a reminder or other notification of the user'"'"'s intent at the second device(s).

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by at least one computing device and via a user interface of a first computing device, a selection, by a user, of a message displayed in a listing of messages in the user interface;

providing, by the at least one computing device and in response to the user'"'"'s selection of the message, the user interface to the first computing device, the user interface comprising, in place of the selected message'"'"'s display in the user interface, user-selectable indicia to indicate a user'"'"'s intent to perform a messaging action using at least one other second computing device, the user-selectable indicia comprising a first indicium selectable by the user to indicate, upon selection, the user'"'"'s intent to defer the messaging action corresponding to the first indicium to a later time and a second indicium selectable by the user to indicate the user'"'"'s intent to perform the messaging action presently without deferring to a later time;

receiving, by the at least one computing device and via the second user-selectable indicium of the user interface, a user request, from the first computing device, the user request received from the first computing device comprising information indicating the user'"'"'s intent to perform, using the at least one other second computing device, the messaging action in connection with the selected message, the user'"'"'s intent, indicated upon selection of the second indicium and received from the first device with the user request, indicating that performance of the messaging action using the at least one second computing device is to be deferred to a later time;

generating, by the at least one computing device and in response to the received request, a messaging event, the messaging event corresponding to the messaging action and comprising information identifying the at least one second computing device different than the first computing device usable to perform the messaging action;

generating, by the at least one computing device, at least one notification of the event for transmission to the at least one second computing device, the at least one notification comprising information about the messaging action; and

transmitting, by the at least one computing device, the at least one notification of the event to the at least one second computing device, event notification transmission comprising making a determination, using the user'"'"'s intent, indicated upon the user'"'"'s selection of the second indicium and received with the user request, whether or not to defer the event notification transmission and making the event notification transmission in accordance with the determination.

2. The method of claim 1, the first computing device comprising a mobile computing device and the at least one second computing device comprising a desktop computing device.

3. The method of claim 1, the first computing device comprising a desktop computing device and the at least one second computing device comprising a mobile computing device.

4. The method of claim 1, the user request is received from a first messaging application and the at least one action is to be performed using a second messaging application.

5. The method of claim 1, the generating further comprising:

generating the at least one notification of the event in accordance with the determination made using the user'"'"'s intent received with the user request.

6. The method of claim 1, the user request is received from a messaging application open at the first computing device, and the at least one notification of the event is generated for transmission to a second computing device of the at least one second computing device based on an indication that a messaging application is also open at the second computing device.

7. The method of claim 1, the at least one notification'"'"'s information about the messaging action comprising search criteria and instructions to perform a search of at least one messaging folder using the search criteria.

8. The method of claim 1, the at least one notification'"'"'s information comprising information to be displayed to the user as a reminder of the user'"'"'s intent to perform the corresponding messaging action.

9. The method of claim 1, the messaging action corresponding to the first indicium comprises a message read action and the at least one notification'"'"'s information identifying the message and comprising instructions to open the identified message for the user.

10. The method of claim 1, the messaging action corresponding to the first indicium comprises a message reply action and the at least one notification'"'"'s information identifying the message and comprising instructions to open the identified message for the user.

11. The method of claim 1, the messaging action corresponding to the first indicium comprises a compose message action and the at least one notification'"'"'s information comprising instructions to open a new message for the user.

12. The method of claim 1, the second indicium selectable by the user to indicate the user'"'"'s intent to perform the messaging action presently, at the at least one second computing device, without deferring to a later time.

13. A method comprising:

receiving input via a user interface and from a first computing device, the user interface comprising a number of user-selectable options in connection with a selected message, the number of user-selectable options comprising a first option selectable by the user to indicate, upon selection, the user'"'"'s intent to defer performance of a messaging action, in connection with the selected message, to a later time and on a second device and a second option selectable by the user to indicate, upon selection, the user'"'"'s intent to perform the messaging action without deferring to a later time, the received input indicating the user'"'"'s selection of the second option; and

causing, by the first computing device and in response to the received input, a messaging event to be generated, the messaging event corresponding to the messaging action and comprising information identifying at least one second computing device different than the first computing device and identifying the messaging action, the messaging event is to be transmitted to the at least one second computing device in accordance with a determination made using the user'"'"'s intent, indicated upon selection of the first option by the user, whether or not to defer event notification.

14. The method of claim 13, causing the messaging event to be generated further comprising:

transmitting, by the first computing device to at least one server computing device, a request to generate the messaging event, the request comprising information identifying the user and information for use in identifying the messaging action and the at least one second computing device.

15. The method of claim 13, the first computing device comprising a mobile computing device and the at least one second computing device comprising a desktop computing device.

16. The method of claim 13, the first computing device comprising a desktop computing device and the at least one second computing device comprising a mobile computing device.

17. The method of claim 13, the user input comprising an indication whether or not the user'"'"'s intent is to defer performance of the messaging action, the indication determining a timing of at least one reminder to notify the user at the at least one second computing device of the user'"'"'s intent to perform the messaging action.

18. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

receiving, at the first computing device and from a computing device other than the first computing device, information identifying the user'"'"'s intent to perform a messaging action at the first computing device; and

displaying, at the first computing device, at least one reminder of the messaging action that is to be performed at the first computing device.

19. The method of claim 18, the at least one reminder is displayed in accordance with a user-specified timing for the at least one reminder.

20. The method of claim 18, the received information comprising information instructing the first computing device to display the at least one reminder in connection with a messaging client application at the first computing device.

21. The method of claim 20, the method further comprising:

determining, by the first computing device, whether the messaging client application is executing at the first computing device;

the displaying further comprising;

displaying the at least one reminder of the messaging action if it is determined that the messaging client application is executing at the first computing device; and

if it is determined that the messaging client is not executing on the first computing device, waiting to display the at least one reminder of the messaging action until the messaging client application is invoked at the first computing device.

22. A system comprising:

at least one computing device comprising one or more processors to execute and memory to store instructions to;

receive, via a user interface of a first computing device, a selection, by a user, of a message displayed in a listing of messages in the user interface;

provide, in response to the user'"'"'s selection of the message, the user interface to the first computing device, the user interface comprising, in place of the selected message'"'"'s display in the user interface, user-selectable indicia to indicate a user'"'"'s intent to perform a messaging action using at least one other second computing device, the user-selectable indicia comprising a first indicium selectable by the user to indicate, upon selection, the user'"'"'s intent to defer the a messaging action corresponding to the first indicium to a later time and a second indicium selectable by the user to indicate the user'"'"'s intent to perform the messaging action presently without deferring to a later time;

receive, via the second user-selectable indicium of the user interface, a user request from a first computing device, the user request received from the first computing device comprising information indicating the user'"'"'s intent to perform, using the at least one other second computing device, the messaging action in connection with the selected message, the user'"'"'s intent, indicated upon selection of the second indicium and received from the first device with the user request, indicating that performance of the messaging action using the at least one second computing device is to be deferred to a later time;

generate, in response to the received request, a messaging event, the messaging event corresponding to the messaging action and comprising information identifying at least one second computing device different than the first computing device usable to perform the messaging action;

generate at least one notification of the event for transmission to the at least one second computing device, the at least one notification comprising information about the messaging action; and

transmit the at least one notification of the event to the at least one second computing device, event notification transmission comprising making a determination, using the user'"'"'s intent, indicated upon the user'"'"'s selection of the second indicium and received with the user request, whether or not to defer the event notification transmission and making the event notification transmission in accordance with the determination.

23. The system of claim 22, the first computing device comprising a mobile computing device and the at least one second computing device comprising a desktop computing device.

24. The system of claim 22, the first computing device comprising a desktop computing device and the at least one second computing device comprising a mobile computing device.

25. The system of claim 22, the user request is received from a first messaging application and the at least one action is to be performed using a second messaging application.

26. The system of claim 22, the instructions to generate further comprising instructions to:

generate the at least one notification of the event using a timing specified by in accordance with the determination using the user'"'"'s intent received with the user request.

27. The system of claim 22, the user request is received from a messaging application open at the first computing device, and the at least one notification of the event is generated for transmission to a second computing device of the at least one second computing device based on an indication that a messaging application is also open at the second computing device.

28. The system of claim 22, the at least one notification'"'"'s information about the messaging action comprising search criteria and instructions to perform a search of at least one messaging folder using the search criteria.

29. The system of claim 22, the at least one notification'"'"'s information comprising information to be displayed to the user as a reminder of the user'"'"'s intent to perform the corresponding messaging action.

30. The system of claim 22, the messaging action corresponding to the first indicium comprises a message read action and the at least one notification'"'"'s information identifying the message and comprising instructions to open the identified message for the user.

31. The system of claim 22, the messaging action corresponding to the first indicium comprises a message reply action and the at least one notification'"'"'s information identifying the message and comprising instructions to open the identified message for the user.

32. The system of claim 22, the messaging action corresponding to the first indicium comprises a compose message action and the at least one notification'"'"'s information comprising instructions to open a new message for the user.

33. The system of claim 22, the second indicium selectable by the user to indicate the user'"'"'s intent to perform the messaging action presently, at the at least one second computing device, without deferring to a later time.

34. A system comprising:

at least one computing device comprising one or more processors to execute and memory to store instructions to;

receive input from a user interface display at a first computing device, the user interface comprising a number of user-selectable options in connection with a selected message, the number of user-selectable options comprising a first option selectable by the user to indicate, upon selection, the user'"'"'s intent to defer performance of a messaging action, in connection with the selected message, to a later time and on a second device and a second option selectable by the user to indicate, upon selection, the user'"'"'s intent to perform the messaging action without deferring to a later time, the received input indicating the user'"'"'s selection of the second option; and

cause, in response to the received input, a messaging event to be generated, the messaging event corresponding to the messaging action and comprising information identifying at least one second computing device different than a first computing device and identifying the messaging action, the messaging event is to be transmitted to the at least one second computing devices in accordance with a determination made using the user'"'"'s intent, indicated upon selection of the first option by the user, whether or not to defer event notification.

35. The system of claim 34, the instructions to cause the messaging event to be generated further comprising instructions to:

transmit, to at least one server computing device, a request to generate the messaging event, the request comprising information identifying the user and information for use in identifying the messaging action and the at least one second computing devices.

36. The system of claim 34, the first computing device comprising a mobile computing device and the at least one second computing device comprising a desktop computing device.

37. The system of claim 34, the first computing device comprising a desktop computing device and the at least one second computing device comprising a mobile computing device.

38. The system of claim 34, an indication whether or not the user'"'"'s intent is to defer performance of the messaging action, the indication determining a timing of at least one reminder to notify the user at the at least one second computing device of the user'"'"'s intent to perform the messaging action.

39. The system of claim 34, the instructions further comprising instructions to:

receive, at the first computing device and from a computing device other than the first computing device, information identifying the user'"'"'s intent to perform a messaging action at the first computing device; and

display, at the first computing device, at least one reminder of the messaging action that is to be performed at the first computing device.

40. The system of claim 39, the at least one reminder is displayed in accordance with a user-specified timing for the at least one reminder.

41. The system of claim 39, the received information comprising information instructing the first computing device to display the at least one reminder in connection with a messaging client application at the first computing device.

42. The system of claim 41, the instructions further comprising instructions to:

determine, by the first computing device, whether the messaging client application is executing at the first computing device;

the instructions to display further comprising instructions to;

display the at least one reminder of the messaging action if it is determined that the messaging client application is executing at the first computing device; and

if it is determined that the messaging client is not executing on the first computing device, wait to display the at least one reminder of the messaging action until the messaging client application is invoked at the first computing device.

43. A computer readable non-transitory storage medium for tangibly storing thereon computer readable instructions that when executed cause at least one processor to:

receive, via a user interface of a first computing device, a selection, by a user, of a message displayed in a listing of messages in the user interface;

in response to the user'"'"'s selection of the message, provide the user interface to the first computing device, the user interface comprising, in place of the selected message'"'"'s display in the user interface, user-selectable indicia to indicate a user'"'"'s intent to perform a messaging action using at least one other second computing device, the user-selectable indicia comprising a first indicium selectable by the user to indicate, upon selection, the user'"'"'s intent to defer the messaging action corresponding to the first indicium to a later time and a second indicium selectable by the user to indicate the user'"'"'s intent to perform the messaging action presently without deferring to a later time;

receive, via the second user-selectable indicium of the user interface, a user request from the first computing device, the user request received from the first computing device comprising information indicating the user'"'"'s intent to perform, using the at least one other second computing device, the messaging action in connection with the selected message, the user'"'"'s intent, indicated upon selection of the second indicium and received from the first device with the user request, indicating that performance of the messaging action using the at least one second computing device is to be deferred to a later time;

generate, in response to the received request, a messaging event, the messaging event corresponding to the messaging action and comprising information identifying at least one second computing device different than the first computing device usable to perform the messaging action;

generate at least one notification of the event for transmission to the at least one second computing device, the at least one notification comprising information about the messaging action; and

transmitting, by the at least one computing device, the at least one notification of the event to the at least one second computing device, event notification transmission comprising making a determination, using the user'"'"'s intent, indicated upon the user'"'"'s selection of the second indicium and received with the user request, whether or not to defer the event notification transmission and making the event notification transmission in accordance with the determination.

44. The computer readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 43, the first computing device comprising a mobile computing device and the at least one second computing device comprising a desktop computing device.

45. The computer readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 43, the first computing device comprising a desktop computing device and the at least one second computing device comprising a mobile computing device.

46. The computer readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 43, the user request is received from a first messaging application and the at least one action is to be performed using a second messaging application.

47. The computer readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 43, the instructions to generate further comprising instructions to:

generate the at least one notification of the event in accordance with the determination made using the user'"'"'s intent received with the user request.

48. The computer readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 43, the user request is received from a messaging application open at the first computing device, and the at least one notification of the event is generated for transmission to a second computing device of the at least one second computing device based on an indication that a messaging application is also open at the second computing device.

49. The computer readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 43, the at least one notification'"'"'s information about the messaging action comprising search criteria and instructions to perform a search of at least one messaging folder using the search criteria.

50. The computer readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 43, the at least one notification'"'"'s information comprising information to be displayed to the user as a reminder of the user'"'"'s intent to perform the corresponding messaging action.

51. The computer readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 43, the messaging action corresponding to the first indicium comprises a message read action and the at least one notification'"'"'s information identifying the message and comprising instructions to open the identified message for the user.

52. The computer readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 43, the messaging action corresponding to the first indicium comprises a message reply action and the at least one notification'"'"'s information identifying the message and comprising instructions to open the identified message for the user.

53. The computer readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 43, the messaging action corresponding to the first indicium comprises a compose message action and the at least one notification'"'"'s information comprising instructions to open a new message for the user.

54. The computer readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 43, the second indicium selectable by the user to indicate the user'"'"'s intent to perform the messaging action presently, at the at least one second computing device, without deferring to a later time.

55. A computer readable non-transitory storage medium for tangibly storing thereon computer readable instructions that when executed cause at least one processor to:

receive input via a user interface and from a first computing device, the user interface comprising a number of user-selectable options in connection with a selected message, the number of user-selectable options comprising a first option selectable by the user to indicate, upon selection, the user'"'"'s intent to defer performance of a messaging action, in connection with the selected message, to a later time and on a second device and a second option selectable by the user to indicate, upon selection, the user'"'"'s intent to perform the messaging action without deferring to a later time, the received input indicating the user'"'"'s selection of the second option; and

cause, in response to the received input, a messaging event to be generated, the messaging event corresponding to the messaging action and comprising information identifying at least one second computing device different than a first computing device and identifying the messaging action, the messaging event is to be transmitted to the at least one second computing device in accordance with a determination made using the user'"'"'s intent, indicated upon selection of the first option by the user, whether or not to defer event notification.

56. The computer readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 55, the instructions to cause messaging event to be generated further comprising instructions to:

transmit, to at least one server computing device, a request to generate the messaging event, the request comprising information identifying the user and information for use in identifying the messaging action and the at least one second computing device.

57. The computer readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 55, the first computing device comprising a mobile computing device and the at least one second computing device comprising a desktop computing device.

58. The computer readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 55, the first computing device comprising a desktop computing device and the at least one second computing device comprising a mobile computing device.

59. The computer readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 55, an indication whether or not the user'"'"'s intent is to defer performance of the messaging action, the indication determining a timing of at least one reminder to notify the user at the at least one second computing device of the user'"'"'s intent to perform the messaging action.

60. The computer readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 55, the instructions further comprising instructions to:

receive, at the first computing device and from a computing device other than the first computing device, information identifying the user'"'"'s intent to perform a messaging action at the first computing device; and

display, at the first computing device, at least one reminder of the messaging action that is to be performed at the first computing device.

61. The computer readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 60, the at least one reminder is displayed in accordance with a user-specified timing for the at least one reminder.

62. The computer readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 60, the received information comprising information instructing the first computing device to display the at least one reminder in connection with a messaging client application at the first computing device.

63. The computer readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 62, the instructions further comprising instructions to:

determine, by the first computing device, whether the messaging client application is executing at the first computing device;

the instructions to display further comprising instructions to;

display the at least one reminder of the messaging action if it is determined that the messaging client application is executing at the first computing device; and

if it is determined that the messaging client is not executing on the first computing device, wait to display the at least one reminder of the messaging action until the messaging client application is invoked at the first computing device.