Method and apparatus for configuring icon interactivity

• US 20010030664A1
• Filed: 11/29/2000
• Published: 10/18/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 08/16/1999
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Vicinium Corporation
• Original Assignee: Vicinium Corporation
• Inventors: Shiller, Jonathan A., Shulman, Leo A., German, Ilya, Schneider, Eric
• Application Number:
  US09/725,635
• Publication Number:
  US 20010030664A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/835
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2805 Home Audio Video Interoperability [HAVI] networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2814 Exchanging control software or macros for controlling appliance services in a home automation network arrangements for maintenance or administration involving configuration of the network and network elements H04L41/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44008 involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in the video stream arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4722 for requesting additional data associated with the content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/478 Supplemental services, e.g. displaying phone caller identification, shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4786 e-mailing message switching systems, e.g. electronic mail systems H04L51/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4788 communicating with other users, e.g. chatting arrangements for providing for computer conferences, e.g. chat rooms, to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1813; distributed application using peer-to-peer [P2P] networks H04L67/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4852 for modifying audio parameters, e.g. switching between mono and stereo
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4854 for modifying image parameters, e.g. image brightness, contrast
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4858 for modifying screen layout parameters, e.g. fonts, size of the windows
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4882 for displaying messages, e.g. warnings, reminders arrangements for providing short real-time information to substation in data switching networks H04L12/1895
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/854 Content authoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8545 for generating interactive applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8547 involving timestamps for synchronizing content
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/165 Centralised control of user terminal subsequent to an upstream request signal H04N7/17345; Registering at central by two-way working H04N7/17309
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/173 with two-way working, e.g. subscriber sending a programme selection signal

Abstract

A subscriber device receives notification and it is determined if an icon is to be displayed in response to the received notification. When the icon is to be displayed, the interactivity level or message severity is determined from the context of the received notification and preferences are retrieved from at least one data record corresponding to interactivity level configuration settings. An icon is then generated from the retrieved preferences and it is determined if there is a message associated with the icon from the received notification. If there is no associated message then the icon is displayed. However, when there is an associated message, the message is attached to the generated icon and then displayed.

Claims

1. A configurable messaging system, comprising:

an icon providing a message to a user, wherein the icon is configurable to provide the message based upon an interactivity level.

2. The system of

claim 1

, wherein the interactivity level is based upon predetermined settings.

3. The system of

claim 2

, wherein the predetermined settings define event thresholds to trigger the message being provided to the user.

4. The system of

claim 3

, wherein the event thresholds are defined by at least one of high, moderate, low, custom, and no interactivity.

5. The system of

claim 4

, wherein the at least one of high, moderate, low, custom, and no interactivity may be defined by notification levels.

6. The system of

claim 5

, wherein the notification levels are configured according to at least one of emergency, warning, home, community, interest group, interactive television, and interactive advertising.

7. The system of

claim 4

, wherein the notification levels are determined from the context of the message.

8. The system of

claim 6

, wherein the icon generation and display changes based upon the notification levels.

9. An icon for use in a graphical user interface, comprising:

a software object which allows for a user to configure the icon with respect to at least one of the following parameters;

volume;

blink rate;

alert duration;

display header;

intermittence level;

transparency;

size;

color and shape.

10. The graphical user interface of

claim 9

, wherein the volume may be adjusted per audio level, tone and mute.

11. The graphical user interface of

claim 9

, wherein the intermittence level may be adjusted for at least one of time off and time on.

12. The graphical user interface of

claim 9

, further comprising at least one of advertising space, a browser space, and status icons.

13. A method providing configurable messaging, comprising:

sending a message to a user; and

configuring an icon to receive the message based upon an interactivity level.

14. The method of

claim 13

, wherein the interactivity level is based upon predetermined settings.

15. The method of

claim 13

, further comprising,

defining event thresholds to trigger the message being provided to the user.

16. The method of

claim 15

, wherein the event thresholds are defined by at least one of high, moderate, low, custom, and no interactivity.

17. The method of

claim 16

, wherein the at least one of high, moderate, low, custom, and no interactivity may be defined by notification levels.

18. The method of

claim 17

, wherein the notification levels are configured according to at least one of emergency, warning, home, community, interest group, interactive television, and interactive advertising.

19. The method of

claim 16

, wherein the notification levels are determined from the context of the message.

20. The method of

claim 18

, further comprising,

changing the icon based upon the notification levels.

21. A system providing configurable messaging, comprising:

means for sending a message to a user; and

means for configuring an icon to receive the message based upon an interactivity level.

22. The system of

claim 21

, wherein the interactivity level is based upon predetermined settings.

23. The system of

claim 23

, wherein the predetermined settings define event thresholds to trigger the message sent to the user.

24. A computer system for providing information to a user, comprising:

a first computer operatively coupled to a second computer, the first computer providing the second computer with information to be accessed by a user of the second computer, the second computer including a graphical user interface to facilitate the user accessing the information; and

an icon providing the information to the user, wherein the icon is configurable to provide the information based upon an interactivity level.

25. A computer system for providing information to a user, comprising:

a first computer operatively coupled to a second computer, the first computer providing the second computer with information to be accessed by a user of the second computer, the second computer including a graphical user interface to facilitate the user accessing the information;

an icon for use with the graphical user interface, the icon allowing the user to configure the icon with respect to at least three of the following parameters;

volume;

blink rate;

alert duration;

display header;

intermittence level;

transparency;

size;

color and shape;

wherein the parameters vary as a function of the user configuration and the content of the information.