Adaptive notification delivery in a multi-device environment

• US 20040223485A1
• Filed: 05/06/2003
• Published: 11/11/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/06/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sbc Knowledge Ventures, L.P.
• Original Assignee: Sbc Knowledge Ventures, L.P.
• Inventors: Arellano, Javier B., Gorti, Sreenivasa
• Granted Patent: US 7,496,630 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/351
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]

Abstract

Multiple network-enabled devices each having a respective agent module are associated with a user. Each agent module is to determine if its associated network-enabled device is capable of rendering content associated with a notification message received thereby, to advertise its services and capabilities to at least one other respective agent module, to discover at least one other respective agent module, and to communicate information with at least one other respective agent module. A notification service node is to receive notification messages from at least one Instant Messaging network and to forward each of the notification messages to a current device of the network-enabled devices. For each notification message, the respective agent module for the current device directs the current device to render content associated therewith if capable of same, and if incapable, negotiates with another one of the network-enabled devices to render the content.

Claims

1. A system for adaptive notification delivery, the system comprising:

a plurality of network-enabled devices associated with a user, each of the network-enabled devices having a respective agent module to determine if its associated network-enabled device is capable of rendering content associated with a notification message received thereby, to advertise its services and capabilities to at least one other respective agent module, to discover at least one other respective agent module, and to communicate information with at least one other respective agent module; and

a notification service node to receive notification messages for the user from at least one Instant Messaging (IM) network and to forward each of the notification messages to a current device of the network-enabled devices;

wherein for each of the notification messages, the respective agent module for the current device directs the current device to render content associated therewith if capable of same, and if incapable, negotiates with another one of the network-enabled devices to render the content.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the notification service node is to receive the notification messages from a plurality of Instant Messaging (IM) networks.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein each of the network-enabled devices has a respective user activity detector to detect which of the network-enabled devices is experiencing user activity, wherein the current device is assigned based on the user activity detector.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein of all of the network-enabled devices, the current device has the most recent user activity based on the user activity detector.

5. The system of claim 1 further comprising a user location detector, wherein the current device is assigned based on the user location detector.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein of all of the network-enabled devices, the current device is closest to the user based on the user location detector.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the content is rendered by displaying the content.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the network-enabled devices comprises a set-top box and a personal computer.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein agent-module-to-agent-module communication is facilitated using an Agent Communication Language.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein agent-module-to-agent-module communication is facilitated using a peer-to-peer protocol.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein the peer-to-peer protocol is based on the JXTA protocol.

12. The system of claim 1 wherein the notification service node is to process the notification messages based on at least one of message urgency, message sender information, a user profile, at least one user preference, and past behavior of the user.

13. A method of adaptive notification delivery, the method comprising:

receiving, at a notification service node, a notification message from an Instant Messaging (IM) network;

forwarding the notification message from the notification service node to a first network-enabled device associated with a user;

determining, at the first network-enabled device, that the first network-enabled device is incapable of rendering content associated with the notification message;

discovering, by the first network-enabled device, a second network-enabled device associated with the user;

receiving, by the first network-enabled device and from the second network-enabled device, information indicating a capability of the second network-enabled device;

based on the capability, determining that the second network-enabled device is capable of rendering the content; and

negotiating between the first network-enabled device and the second network-enabled device to cause the second network-enabled device to render the content.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising:

detecting which of the first network-enabled device and the second network-enabled device is experiencing user activity;

wherein the notification message is forwarded to the first network-enabled device based on said detecting.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein of the first network-enabled device and the second network-enabled device, the first network-enabled device has the most recent user activity based on said detecting.

16. The method of claim 13 further comprising detecting user activity of the first network-enabled device and of the second network-enabled device and wherein of the first network-enabled device and the second network-enabled device, the second network-enabled device has the most recent user activity based on said detecting.

17. The method of claim 13 further comprising:

detecting a location of the user;

wherein the notification message is forwarded to the first network-enabled device based on the location.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the user is closer to the first network-enabled device than the second network-enabled device.

19. The method of claim 13 wherein the second network-enabled device is to render the content by displaying the content.

20. The method of claim 13 wherein the first network-enabled device comprises a set-top box, and the second network-enabled device comprises a personal computer.

21. The method of claim 13 wherein the first network-enabled device comprises a personal computer, and the second network-enabled device comprises a set-top box.

22. The method of claim 13 wherein the first network-enabled device and the second network-enabled device communicate using a peer-to-peer protocol.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein the peer-to-peer protocol is based on JXTA.

24. The method of claim 13 further comprising:

processing, at the notification service node, the notification message based on at least one of message urgency, message sender information, a user profile, at least one user preference, and past behavior of the user.