MOOD-BASED MESSAGING

• US 20100057875A1
• Filed: 11/04/2009
• Published: 03/04/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/04/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Modu Limited (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Ron, Uri, Bychkov, Eyal, Moran, Dov
• Granted Patent: US 8,160,549 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/043 using or handling presence information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/724092 Interfacing with an external cover providing additional functionalities
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72427 for supporting games or graphical animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/7243 with interactive means for internal management of messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72439 for image or video messaging
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/10 including a GPS signal receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/22 including a touch pad, a touch sensor or a touch detector digitizers for touch screens G06F3/041
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements

Abstract

A method for social interacting, including using a portable messaging device for designating, from time to time, a plurality of friends, selecting a mood, sending one or more representations of the selected mood to each of the plurality of designated friends, further selecting an updated mood, and further sending one or more representations of the updated mood to each of the plurality of designated friends, to supersede the previously sent one or more representations of the mood. A user interface is also described and claimed.

Claims

1. A method for social interacting, comprising using a portable messaging device for:

designating, from time to time, a plurality of friends;

selecting a mood;

sending one or more representations of the selected mood to each of the plurality of designated friends;

further selecting an updated mood; and

further sending one or more representations of the updated mood to each of the plurality of designated friends, to supersede the previously sent one or more representations of the mood.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein one of the one or more representations of the selected mood is an image, and wherein one of the one or more representations of the updated mood is an updated image.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the image and the updated image each comprise a picture or a caricature of someone in accordance with the selected mood.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising capturing a photo, and wherein one of the one or more representations of the selected mood is the captured photo.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising capturing a photo, and wherein one of the one or more representations of the updated mood is the captured photo.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

selecting a strength for the selected mood; and

further selecting a strength for the updated mood, and wherein said sending and said further sending each send a representation of the selected strength to each of the plurality of designated friends.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein said sending and said further sending each comprise sending a representation of the whereabouts of the portable messaging device to each of the plurality of designated friends.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

publishing the selected mood to one or more social networks; and

further publishing the updated mood to the one or more social networks.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the plurality of friends comprises less than ten friends.

10. A method for social interacting, comprising using a portable messaging device for:

designating by a user, from time to time, a plurality of friends, comprising;

receiving by the user, from each of the plurality of friends, an invitation of friendship; and

accepting by the user, the received invitations;

displaying one or more representations of a friend'"'"'s mood for at least one of the plurality of designated friends;

receiving one or more updated representations of a friend'"'"'s mood from at least one of the plurality of designated friends; and

updating said displaying according to the received one or more updated representations.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein one of the one or more representations of a friend'"'"'s mood is an image, and wherein one of the one or more updated representations of a friend'"'"'s mood is an updated image.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the image and the updated image each comprise a picture or a caricature of someone in accordance with the selected mood.

13. The method of claim 10 wherein said displaying comprises displaying a representation of a strength of a friend'"'"'s mood for at least one of the plurality of designated friends, wherein said receiving comprises receiving an updated representation of a strength of a friend'"'"'s mood for at least one of the plurality of designated friends, and wherein said updating comprises updating said displaying according to the received one or more updated representations of a strength.

14. The method of claim 10 wherein said displaying comprises displaying a distance between the friend and the user, for the at least one of the plurality of designated friends.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein said displaying a distance only displays the distance when the distance is less than a pre-determined threshold.

16. The method of claim 10 wherein the plurality of friends comprises less than ten friends.

17. A user interface for social interacting using a portable messaging device, comprising:

a display for displaying representations of moods of a first plurality of friends;

an activatable mood selector for selecting one of several moods; and

an activatable update button for sending one or more representations of the selected mood to a second plurality of friends.

18. The user interface of claim 17 wherein one of the one or more representations of the selected mood is an image.

19. The user interface of claim 18 wherein the image comprises a picture or caricature of someone in accordance with the selected mood.

20. The user interface of claim 17 further comprising a camera for capturing a photo, and wherein one of the one or more representations of the selected mood is the photo captured by said camera.

21. The user interface of claim 17 wherein said mood selector comprises a plurality of mood buttons.

22. The user interface of claim 17 wherein said mood selector comprises a knob dial.

23. The user interface of claim 17 wherein said mood selector comprises a jog dial.

24. The user interface of claim 17 wherein said mood selector comprises a slider bar.

25. The user interface of claim 17 further comprising a slider bar for selecting a strength of the selected mode, wherein a representation of the selected strength is also sent to the second plurality of friends when said update button is activated.

26. The user interface of claim 17 further comprising a jog dial for selecting a strength of the selected mode, wherein a representation of the selected strength is also sent to the second plurality of friends when said update button is activated.

27. The user interface of claim 17 further comprising a knob dial for selecting a strength of the selected mode, wherein a representation of the selected strength is also sent to the second plurality of friends when said update button is activated.

28. The user interface of claim 17 further comprising a multi-level switch for selecting a strength of the selected mode, wherein a representation of the selected strength is also sent to the second plurality of friends when said update button is activated.

29. The user interface of claim 17 further comprising a pressure switch for selecting a strength of the selected mode, wherein a representation of the selected strength is also sent to the second plurality of friends when said update button is activated.

30. The user interface of claim 17 further comprising a slider bar for designating whereabouts of the portable messaging device, wherein the designated whereabouts are also sent to the second plurality of friends when said update button is activated.

31. The user interface of claim 17 further comprising a jog dial for designating whereabouts of the portable messaging device, wherein the designated whereabouts are also sent to the second plurality of friends when said update button is activated.

32. The user interface of claim 17 further comprising a knob dial for designating whereabouts of the portable messaging device, wherein the designated whereabouts are also sent to the second plurality of friends when said update button is activated.

33. The user interface of claim 17 further comprising a multi-level switch for designating whereabouts of the portable messaging device, wherein the designated whereabouts are also sent to the second plurality of friends when said update button is activated.

34. The user interface of claim 17 further comprising a plurality of LEDs, for indicating when a mood of a friend from the first plurality of friends has been updated.

35. The user interface of claim 17 wherein the first plurality of friends is the same as the second plurality of friends.

36. The user interface of claim 17 wherein the first plurality of friends is different than the second plurality of friends.

37. The user interface of claim 17 wherein the selected mood is published to one or more social networks when said update button is activated.