CONTEXT DIARY APPLICATION FOR A MOBILE TERMINAL

• US 20140052715A1
• Filed: 10/23/2013
• Published: 02/20/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: RPX Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: JUNG, Younghee, PERSSON, Per, PIIPPO, Petri, MAENPAA, Petri H.
• Granted Patent: US 9,146,973 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/722
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/248 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72439 for image or video messaging
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72442 for playing music files
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72454 according to context-related or environment-related conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72457 according to geographic location
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/02 including a Bluetooth interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/10 including a GPS signal receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/12 including a sensor for measuring a physical value, e.g. temperature or motion
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/20 Services signaling; Auxiliary data signalling, i.e. transmitting data via a non-traffic channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/50 Service provisioning or reconfiguring
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

The invention provides a presentation of contextual information to a digital device in relation to a period of time. As such the invention provides for efficient user access to historical, as well as, current and future or forecasted contextual information. In addition, the present invention provides for current contextual information to be presented in an idle mode view, a scrolling bar mode view or another inconspicuous view. Additionally the present invention provides a novel means of using context information to create multimedia file presentations; image or video file presentations that can be associated with previous periods of time, locations or other context data.

Claims

1. A mobile terminal comprising:

two or more sensors for sensing two or more types of context data;

a sensor application program interface (API) for processing the sensed data to provide one or more context atoms relating to specific pieces of context-related information, wherein each context atom comprises an entity having an associated name, value, source, and date;

a context engine for receiving and storing the context atoms, the context engine including a context silo for storing the context atoms and a context API for allowing one or more user applications to access the context data;

a data store coupled to the context engine for storing information related to a user;

a privacy engine for providing security;

a communications manager for identifying context sources external to the mobile terminal and initiating contact with the external context sources; and

a display for presenting the context-related information and/or information from the external context sources in the manner of a diary,

wherein the context silo further comprises a subscription manager for providing subscriptions to one or more of the context atoms and for providing notifications in the event of a change in the context atoms.

2. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the subscription manager periodically polls the context atoms based upon the subscription and notifications.

3. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein the one or more context atoms further includes attributes including metadata information, the metadata information associated with reliability of the context-related information.

4. The mobile terminal of claim 3, wherein the metadata information further includes information associated with accuracy, source, and time of creation.

5. The mobile terminal of claim 1, wherein operation of the privacy engine is responsive to the information related to the user.

6. The mobile terminal of claim 5, wherein the information related to the user comprises user preferences, profile information, and/or permissions for the privacy engine.

7. The mobile terminal of claim 1, further comprising a time-line based user interface, wherein the time-line based user interface is used to display the context information in relation to a period of time.

8. A method comprising:

sensing, in a mobile terminal, two or more types of context data;

processing the sensed data to provide one or more context atoms relating to specific pieces of context-related information, wherein each context atom comprises an entity having an associated name, value, source, and date;

receiving and storing the context atoms in a context engine;

storing, in a data store, information related to a user;

providing different levels of security based on the information related to the user;

identifying context sources external to the mobile terminal and initiating contact with the external context sources;

using the context-related information and external context sources to provide a presentation on the mobile terminal of multimedia files; and

providing subscriptions to one or more of the context atoms and for providing notifications in the event of a change in the context atoms.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the one or more context atoms further includes attributes including metadata information, the metadata information associated with reliability of the context-related information.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the metadata information further includes information associated with accuracy, source, and time of creation.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein operation of the privacy engine is responsive to the information related to the user.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the information related to the user comprises user preferences, profile information, and/or permissions for the privacy engine.

13. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

providing time-line information; and

displaying the context information in relation to a period of time.

14. A mobile terminal comprising:

two or more sensors for sensing two or more types of context data;

a sensor application program interface (API) for processing the sensed data to provide one or more context atoms relating to specific pieces of context-related information, wherein each context atom comprises an entity having an associated name, value, source, and date;

a context engine for receiving and storing the context atoms, the context engine including a context silo for storing the context atoms and a context API for allowing one or more user applications to access the context data;

a data store coupled to the context engine for storing information related to a user;

a privacy engine for providing security;

a communications manager for identifying context sources external to the mobile terminal and initiating contact with the external context sources; and

a display for presenting the context-related information and/or information from the external context sources in the manner of a diary.

15. A method comprising:

monitoring the external environment of a mobile terminal to determine two or more types of context data, wherein the monitoring includes sensing two or more types of context data from sensors disposed within the mobile terminal;

presenting a context view that provides at least two context categories respectively associated with the two or more types of context data and at least one context item within each of the at least two context categories,

wherein each of the at least one context items is related to a period of time;

presenting a calendar view; and

receiving selection of a period of time within the calendar view for presenting the context view that is associated with the period of time so as to present a context diary.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the presenting a context view that provides at least two context categories associated with the two or more types of context data and at least one context item within each of the at least two context categories further comprises presenting the context view in combination with a timeline view that provides at least two context categories respectively associated with the two or more types of context data and at least one context item within each of the at least two context categories associated with a period of time within the timeline view.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the presenting a context view that provides at least two context categories respectively associated with the two or more types of context data and at least one context item within each of the at least two context categories further defines the at least two context categories as chosen from the group consisting of terminal location, short-range communication devices encountered, location characteristics, and terminal movement.

18. A method comprising:

monitoring the external environment of a mobile terminal to determine two or more types of context data, wherein the monitoring includes sensing two or more types of context data from sensors disposed within the mobile terminal;

presenting the current monitored context data in user-accessible form on a display of the mobile terminal; and

updating the context data on the display when there is a change in the mobile terminal environment;

wherein the updating further defines a change in the mobile terminal environment as chosen from the group consisting of detection of an external context data source;

and acknowledging the disappearance of a signal from a detected external context data source.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the monitoring the external mobile terminal environment to determine two or more types of context data further includes receiving one or more context data from an external context data source.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the presenting the monitored context data in user-accessible form on a display of the mobile terminal further comprises presenting the monitored context data on an idle screen mode.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein the presenting the monitored context data in user-accessible form on a display of the mobile terminal further comprises presenting the monitored context data on a ticker bar mode that scrolls monitored context data.

22. The method of claim 18, wherein the presenting the monitored context data in user-accessible form on a display of the mobile terminal further comprises presenting the monitored context data on a background image.

23. The method of claim 18, wherein the presenting the monitored context data in user-accessible form on a display of the mobile terminal further comprises presenting the monitored context data within a secondary application.

24. The method of claim 18, further comprising accessing the monitored context data to provide user management of the context data, wherein the accessing the monitored context data to provide user management of the context data further comprises accessing an external device that is providing one or more context data.

25. The method of claim 18, further comprising accessing the

monitored context data to provide user management of the context data, wherein the accessing the monitored context data to provide user management of the context data further comprises accessing the monitored context data to change a parameter related to the two or more context data.