System and method for generating message notification objects on dynamically scaled timeline

• US 20050268237A1
• Filed: 05/28/2004
• Published: 12/01/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/28/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Debry, Fabrice A., Winjum, Randall K., McKee, Timothy P., Van Dok, Cornelis K., Crane, Andrew S., Wong, Lyon K.F.
• Granted Patent: US 7,353,466 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/732
• 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 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/224 providing notification on incoming messages, e.g. pushed notifications of received messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/75 Indicating network or usage conditions on the user display
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 715/963 Calendar or scheduling

Abstract

A system and related techniques to collect and manage a set of incoming message notification objects, such as instant message notifications, email notifications, download notifications, transaction notifications and others and present those objects to the user an icon, tile or other representation on a dynamically scaled timeline. According to embodiments, the dynamically scaled timeline may present the most recently received object farthest to the right on a notifications bar or facility, and slide objects to the left to represent that passage of time as those objects age. Instead of presenting those objects on a linear scale, according to the invention the time intervals in which the objects may be presented may be scaled to cause the oldest message objects to be presented on a relatively compressed dimension. The most recently received messages in contrast may be presented on wider intervals, to permit the user to perceive the differences in arrival of those items more clearly. According to embodiments, when more than one message object slides to an overlapping point with another, those objects may be stacked into a cascading message stack. When two or more stacks touch, they may be merged into a single stack. According to embodiments of the invention in another regard, when the user hovers over a given message object a popup box may appear which displays attributes of that object, such as message or other notification type, the date and time which the object was received, the source of the underlying message or other data. In further embodiments, one or more of the message notification objects may be clickable or otherwise reactivatable to reveal actions, dialogs, inputs or other interactions which were presented at the time the message was originally received, such as a query box to input a password or a selection for an email address.

Claims

1. A system for generating message notification objects for display on a dynamically scaled timeline, comprising:

an input interface to receive a set of message notification objects;

a display engine, the display engine communicating with the input interface to receive the message notification objects and generate a dynamically scaled timeline to display the message notification objects; and

an output interface, the display engine communicating the set of message notification objects to a display device via the output interface to display on the dynamically scaled timeline.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein the set of message notification objects comprise at least one of an instant messaging notification object, an email notification object, an online user logon notification object, a network service notification object, a download notification object, a telephone notification object, a transaction information notification object and a client resource notification object.

3. A system according to claim 1, wherein the input interface communicates with a communications service to receive the set of message notification objects.

4. A system according to claim 3, wherein the communications service comprises at least one of services provided by an internet service provider and services provided via a local area network.

5. A system according to claim 1, wherein the dynamically scaled timeline comprises a set of intervals.

6. A system according to claim 5, wherein each of the set of intervals are scaled as a function of the amount of time since each of a corresponding one of the message notification objects has been received.

7. A system according to claim 6, wherein the function comprises a function which is proportional to the square root of a difference between each of the set of intervals and the present time.

8. A system according to claim 1, wherein the display device comprises a monitor.

9. A system according to claim 1, wherein the message notification objects are presented in a notification facility in a graphical user interface on the display device.

10. A system according to claim 9, wherein at least two of the set of message notification objects are stacked into a message notification stack when their scaled intervals overlap.

11. A system according to claim 10, wherein at least two sets of at least two message notification objects are stacked into at least two message notification stacks, and the at least two message notification stacks are merged when their scaled intervals overlap.

12. A system according to claim 9, wherein the dynamically scaled timeline is displayed in a sidebar of a user interface.

13. A system according to claim 1, wherein attribute data associated with at least one of the message notification objects is displayed upon selection by a user.

14. A system according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the set of message notification objects is configured to reactivate a dialog activity generated when the message was originally received, upon activation of the at least one message notification object by a user.

15. A system according to claim 1, wherein no message notification object is generated for display until at least the occurrence of a new message notification after at least one of a period of inactivity and a user-selected do not disturb period.

16. A system according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the set of message notification objects comprises a representative icon corresponding to a message type of the at least one message notification object.

17. A method for generating message notification objects on a dynamically scaled timeline, comprising:

receiving a set of message notification objects; and

generating a dynamically scaled timeline to display the set of message notification objects on an output display.

18. A method according to claim 17, further comprising communicating the set of message notification objects to a display device to display on the dynamically scaled timeline.

19. A method according to claim 17, wherein the set of message notification objects comprise at least one of an instant messaging notification object, an email notification object, an online user notification object, a network service notification object, a download notification object, a telephone notification object, a transaction information notification object and a client resource notification object.

20. A method according to claim 17, wherein the receiving comprises communicating with a communications service to receive the set of message notification objects.

21. A method according to claim 20, wherein the communications service comprise at least one of services provided by an internet service provider and services provided via a local area network.

22. A method according to claim 17, wherein the dynamically scaled timeline comprises a set of intervals.

23. A method according to claim 22, further comprising scaling each of the set of intervals as a function of the amount of time since a corresponding one of the message notification objects has been received.

24. A method according to claim 23, wherein the function comprises a function which is proportional to the square root of a difference between each of the set of intervals and the present time.

25. A method according to claim 18, further comprising presenting the set of message notification objects in a notification facility in a graphical user interface on the display device.

26. A method according to claim 25, wherein the notification facility is displayed in a sidebar of the graphical user interface.

27. A method according to claim 17, further comprising stacking at least two of the set of message notification objects into a message notification stack when their scaled intervals overlap.

28. A method according to claim 27, wherein at least two sets of at least two message notification objects are stacked into at least two message notification stacks, further comprising merging at least two message notification stacks when their scaled intervals overlap.

29. A method according to claim 17, further comprising displaying attribute data associated with at least one of the set of message notification objects when selected by a user.

30. A method according to claim 17, further comprising reactivating a dialog activity generated when the message was originally received upon activation of at least one message notification object by a user.

31. A method according to claim 17, wherein no message notification object is generated for display until at least the occurrence of a new message notification event after at least one of a period of inactivity and a user-selected do not disturb period.

32. A method according to claim 17, wherein at least one of the set of message notification objects comprises a representative icon corresponding to a message type of the at least one message notification object.

33. A method according to claim 17, further comprising generating a sound output based upon receipt or selection of at least one of the set of message notification objects.

34. A system for generating message notification objects on a dynamically scaled timeline, comprising:

input means for receiving a set of message notification objects;

display engine means, the display engine means communicating with the input means to receive the message notification objects and generate a dynamically scaled timeline to display the message notification objects; and

output means, the display engine means communicating the set of message notification objects to a display device via the output means to display on the dynamically scaled timeline.

35. A system according to claim 34, wherein the set of message notification objects comprise at least one of an instant messaging notification object, an email notification object, an online user notification object, a network service notification object, a download notification object, a telephone notification object, a transaction information notification object and a client resource notification object.

36. A system according to claim 34, wherein the dynamically scaled timeline comprises a set of intervals.

37. A system according to claim 36, wherein each of the set of intervals are scaled as a function of the amount of time since a corresponding one of the message notification objects has been received.

38. A system according to claim 34, wherein at least two of the set of message notification objects are stacked into a message notification stack when their scaled intervals overlap.

39. A system according to claim 38, wherein at least two sets of at least two message notification objects are stacked into at least two message notification stacks, and the at least two message notification stacks are merged when their scaled intervals overlap.

40. A system according to claim 34, wherein attribute data associated with at least one of the set of message notification objects is displayed upon selection by a user.

41. A system according to claim 34, wherein at least one of the set of message notification objects is configured to reactivate a dialog activity generated when the message was originally received upon activation by a user.

42. A system according to claim 34, wherein at least one of the set of message notification objects comprises a representative icon corresponding to a message type of the at least one message notification object.

43. A selectable message notification object generated for display on a timeline, comprising:

a representation of a message notification object; and

a set of data associated with the representation of the message notification object, the set of data being accessible for display at least upon selection of the representation by a user.

44. A message notification object according to claim 43, wherein the set of data associated with the representation comprises attribute data.

45. A message notification object according to claim 44, wherein the attribute data comprises at least one of date data, time data, message type data, message content data, message source data, download data, transaction data and network service data.

46. A message notification object according to claim 43, wherein the set of data associated with the representation comprises an activatable input dialog.

47. A message notification object according to claim 43, wherein the message notification object comprises a representative icon corresponding to a message type of the message notification object.