Messaging including custom characters with tags localized to language of user receiving message

• US 10,298,522 B2
• Filed: 05/12/2017
• Issued: 05/21/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amojee, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Amojee, Inc.
• Inventors: Yim, Jay H., Pereira, Fernando L., Kaizuka, Mike, Georges, John B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Keehn, Richard G
• Application Number:
  US15/594,158
• Publication Number:
  US 20180295072A1
• Time in Patent Office: 739 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/58 Use of machine translation, e.g. for multi-lingual retrieval, for server-side translation for client devices or for real-time translation
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/203 Drawing of straight lines or curves
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/60 Editing figures and text; Combining figures or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2200/24 involving graphical user interfaces [GUIs]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/10 Multimedia information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/18 Commands or executable codes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]

Abstract

Embodiments of the present technology enable messages including one or more custom characters (and potentially also one or more standard characters) to be communicated between client devices, wherein each of the custom characters includes at least one tag word that enables a meaning of the custom character to be better understood, and wherein such tag words can be translated from one language to another to enable users that understand different languages to better be able to communicate with one another using the custom characters. Beneficially, embodiments described herein overcome many of the drawbacks associated with electronic messages being limited to including only standard characters, such as standard emoji. Embodiments described herein also enable users that speak different languages to more easily and readily communicate with one another using a messaging application.

Claims

1. A method for displaying and sending messages including one or more custom characters from a first client device to a second client device, wherein the first client device is associated with a first user having a first designated language, and wherein the second client device is associated with a second user having a second designated language that is different than the first designated language, the method comprising:

(a) accepting and displaying, via a user interface of the first client device, a message within a message entry field, the message including one or more custom characters that are selected by the first user associated with the first client device,

wherein a unique custom character reference, one or more tag words, and image data are associated with each of the custom character(s), and

wherein each of the custom character(s) is not included within a Unicode Standard;

(b) in response to accepting an indication that the user of the first client device wants to send the message within the message entry field to the second user associated with the second client device, sending, from the first client device to the second client device, message data that includes the following

the unique custom character reference associated with each of the custom character(s) included in the message entry field, and

one or more tag words associated with each of the custom character(s) included in the message entry field;

wherein the sending of the unique custom character reference associated with each of the custom character(s) included in the message entry field, from the first client device to the second client device, enables the second client device to obtain the image data associated with each of the custom character(s) from a local data store of the second client device or from a remote server, and thus, without the first client device sending the image data associated with each of the custom character(s) to the second client device;

wherein at least one said tag word associated with each of the custom character(s) is in the second designated language of the second user and is for display to the second user, in response to the second user selecting the custom character while viewing the custom character, to thereby provide the second user with context for the selected custom character in the second designated language of the second user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the message within the message entry field, that is accepted and displayed at step (a), also includes one or more standard characters that are selected by the first user associated with the first client device, and

each of the standard character(s) is included within the Unicode Standard.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein:

the standard characters that are included within the Unicode Standard are selectable by the first user of the first client device via a virtual keyboard of the user interface of the first client device;

image data for the standard characters that are included within the Unicode Standard are provided by the operating system of the first client device, which is stored in a local data store of the first client device; and

the image data for each of the custom character(s) is not provided by the operating system of the first client device.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing the following within a local data store of the first client device:

a unique custom character reference for each of a plurality of custom characters;

image data for each of the plurality of custom characters for which the unique custom character reference is stored;

at least one tag word for each of the plurality of custom characters for which the unique custom character reference is stored; and

translation data that enables the tag words to be translated from the first designated language of the first user to the second designated language of the second user, as well is into one or more further languages of one or more further users.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

enabling the first user of the first client device to create one or more new custom characters and to specify at least one tag word for each of the new custom characters that the first user creates;

enabling the first user of the first client device to include one or more of the new custom character(s) within the message entry field; and

using the stored translation data to translate a said tag word associated with a said new custom character, to be included in message data that is to be sent from the first client device to the second client device, from the first designated language of the first user associate with the first client device to the second designated language of the second user associated with the second client device.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

the first client device receiving from the second client device a language designation message that informs the first client device that a designated language of the second user, associated with second client device, is the second designated language;

wherein the first client device knows what language to translate one or more tag words into based on the language designation message that the first client device receives from the second client device.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

the first client device sending to the second client device a language designation message that informs the second client device that a designated language of the first user, associated with first client device, is the first designated language.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the message data that is sent from the first client device to the second client device passes through a server system.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein:

any one of the custom character(s) can be a custom emoji created using a drawing tool, a custom alphanumeric character created using a drawing tool, a digital image or portion thereof obtained using a digital camera, or digital image or portion thereof obtained using a digital camera and modified using a drawing tool and/or a filter; and

any one of the custom character(s) can be or have been created by the user of the client device, or can have been created by a different user of a different client device, and wherein the creator of a said custom character specifies the one or more tag words that is/are associated with the custom character.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the message entry field comprises:

a message tray that is displayed via the user interface of the first client device, and the method further comprising after message data for a message within the message tray is sent from the first client device to the second client device, displaying the message for which the message data that was sent within a message bubble that is displayed via the user interface of the first client device, with the message bubble being part of a displayed message thread that may or may not already include other message bubbles;

or

a message bubble that is displayed via the user interface of the first client device, with the message bubble being part of a displayed message thread that may or may not already include other message bubbles.

11. A method for receiving and displaying messages one or more custom characters, the method comprising:

(a) a second client device receiving message data from a first client device, wherein

the first client device is associated with a first user having a first designated language,

the second client device is associated with a second user having a second designated language that is different than the first designated language,

the message data includes one or more unique custom character references, and one or more tag words associated with each of the unique custom character reference(s),

at least one said tag word associated with each of the unique custom character reference(s) is in the second designed language of the second user,

each of the unique custom character reference(s) is associated with a corresponding custom character that is not included within a Unicode Standard;

(b) the second client device obtaining, for each of the unique custom character reference(s) included in the received message data, image data for the custom character associated with the unique custom character reference,

wherein the obtaining is performing without the second client device receiving the image data associated with the custom character(s) from the first client device; and

(c) displaying, via a user interface of the second client device, the one or more custom characters that is/are associated with the one or more unique custom character references included in the received message data; and

(d) in response to the second user of the second client device selecting one of the custom character(s) that is/are displayed via the user interface of the second client device, also displaying via the user interface of the second client device at least one said tag word, associated with the selected custom character, that is in the second designated language of the second user and thereby provides context for the selected custom character in the second designated language of the second user.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein step (d) also includes, in response to a user of the client device selecting one of the custom character(s) that is/are displayed via the user interface of the client device, issuing a remote query to a remote server and obtaining therefrom the tag word associated with the selected custom character and storing the tag word in the local data store of the client device, wherein the tag word associated the selected custom character is in the second designated language of the second user.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein:

the message data received by the second client device at step (a) also includes one or more standard characters that is/are each within the Unicode standard;

image data for the standard characters that are included within the Unicode Standard are provided by the operating system of the client device, which is stored in a local data store of the client device; and

the image data for each of the custom character(s) is not provided by the operating system of the client device.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the displaying at step (c) includes displaying, within a message bubble, at least one of the one or more standard characters and at least one of the one or more custom characters such that they are in-line with one another within the message bubble.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein step (d) also comprises, in additional to displaying the at least one said tag word associated the selected custom character in the second designated language of the second user, in response to the second user of the second client device selecting one of the custom character(s) that is/are displayed via the user interface of the second client device, also displaying, via the user interface of the second client device, a larger and higher resolution version of the selected custom character.

16. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

the second client device receiving from the first client device a language designation message that informs the second client device that a designated language of the first user, associated with first client device, is the first designated language.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

the second client device sending to the first client device a language designation message that informs the first client device that a designated language of the second user, associated with second client device, is the second designated language.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein the message data that is received by the second client device, from the first client device, passes through a server system.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the first and second client devices each send a respective language designation message to the server system that informs the server system that the designated language of the first user associated with the first client device is the first designated language, and informs the server system that the designated language of the second user associate with the second client device is the second designated language.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the server system uses translation data to cause at least one said tag word associated with each of the unique custom character reference(s) that is received by the second client device to be in the second designed language.

21. One or more processor readable storage devices having instructions encoded thereon which when executed cause one or more processors of a first client device to provide a client messaging application operable to:

provide a messaging user interface for the first client device associated with a first user having a first designated language;

store the following within a local data store of the first client device

a unique custom character reference for each of a plurality of custom characters,

image data for each of the plurality of custom characters for which the unique custom character reference is stored,

one or more tag words for each of the plurality of custom characters for which the unique custom character reference is stored, and

translation data that enables tag words to be translated from the first designated language of the first user to the second designated language of the second user;

accept and display, via the messaging user interface of the first client device, a message within a message entry field;

send, from the first client device to a second client device having a second designated language that is different than the first designated language, message data that includes the following

one or more standard characters included in the message entry field,

a unique custom character reference associated with each of one or more custom characters included in the message entry field, and

at least one tag word associated with each of the custom character(s) included in the message entry field,

wherein each of the standard character(s) is included within a Unicode Standard,

wherein each of the custom character(s) is not included within the Unicode Standard, and

wherein at least one said tag word associated with each of the custom character(s) is in the second designated language.

22. The one or more processor readable storage devices of claim 21, wherein the first client device knows what language to translate one or more tag words into based on a language designation message that the first client device receives from the second client device, wherein the language designation message informs the first client device that a designated language of the second user, associated with second client device, is the second designated language.

23. The one or more processor readable storage devices of claim 21, wherein the message data that is sent from the first client device to the second client device passes through a server system.

24. A server system, comprising:

one or more processors;

one or more data stores configured to store

client data for each of a plurality of users that are each associated with a respective client device, the client data including a designated language for each of the users, wherein the designated language for one or more of the users can be a default designated language, and wherein the designated language for at least some of the users differ from one another;

a unique custom character reference, one or more tag words, and image data associated with each of a plurality of custom characters;

translation data that enables tag words to be translated from one designated language of one user to another designated language of another user; and

a server messaging application including instructions that are executable by the one or more processors, the server messaging application operable to;

receive a unique custom character reference query including one or more standard characters from a said client device, and in response thereto, identify one or more of the unique custom character references that have a tag word associate therewith that includes the one or more standard characters included in the unique custom character reference query;

send to the client device from which the unique custom character reference query was received, a list of the identified one or more of the unique custom character references that have a tag word associate therewith that includes the one or more standard characters included in the unique custom character reference query;

receive an image data query including a unique custom character reference from the client device, and in response thereto, identify image data for a custom character associated with the unique custom character reference included in the image data query; and

send to the client device from which the image data query was received, image data for the custom character associated with the unique custom character reference included in the image data query.

25. The server system of claim 24, wherein the server messaging application is also operable to:

receive a tag word query including a unique custom character reference from the client device, and in response thereto, identify one or more tag words associated with the unique custom character reference included in the tag word query;

translate at least one of the one or more identified tag words into the designated language of the user of the client device from which the tag word query was received; and

send to the client device from which the tag word query was received, the one or more tag words, associated with the unique custom character reference included in the tag word query, at least one of which is in the designated language of the user of the client device from which the tag word query was received.

26. The server system of claim 24, wherein the server messaging application is also operable to:

receive from a said client device associate with a said user, image data associated with a new custom character created by the user and one or more tag words that the user specified as being associated with new custom character;

store within at least one of the one or more data stores, a unique custom character reference for the new custom character, the one or more tag words associated therewith, and the image data associated therewith; and

use the stored translation data to translate at least one of the one or more tag words, associated with the unique custom character reference for the new custom character, into one or more other languages.