DISPLAYING INTERACTIVE NOTIFICATIONS ON TOUCH SENSITIVE DEVICES

• US 20150350147A1
• Filed: 09/30/2014
• Published: 12/03/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Shepherd, Matthew E., Lemay, Stephen O., Anzures, Freddy A., Dellinger, Richard R., Yang, Lawrence Y., Dickson, Michael Rhett, Alabi, Tomiwa
• Granted Patent: US 9,887,949 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/02 using automatic reactions or user delegation, e.g. automatic replies or chatbot-generated messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/10 Multimedia information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/224 providing notification on incoming messages, e.g. pushed notifications of received messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/42 Mailbox-related aspects, e.g. synchronisation of mailboxes

Abstract

Methods and devices display an interactive notification element at an electronic device. The method comprises detecting an occurrence of an event associated with an application. In response to detecting the occurrence of the event, a notification element is displayed. A user of the device inputs a sequence of one or more gestures to reveal actions he can take in response to the notification element. The device then displays a plurality of action option UI elements, the selection of each action option UI element causing the application to perform a different action.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

at an electronic device with one or more processors and memory;

detecting an occurrence of an event associated with an application;

in response to detecting the occurrence of the event, displaying a notification element in a first area of a user interface, the notification element comprising information about the event;

responsive to detecting a first sequence of one or more inputs that correspond to the first area of the user interface, displaying a plurality of action option UI elements that include a first UI element and a second UI element, wherein selection of the first UI element causes the application to perform a first action and selection of the second UI element causes the application to perform a second action that is different from the first action.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the notification element is scheduled to be removed from the display after being displayed for a predetermined amount of time; and

the method includes, in response to detecting a first sequence of one or more inputs, causing the notification element to be maintained on the display after the predetermined amount of time.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein causing the application to perform the first action further comprises:

requesting an authentication code; and

responsive to receiving a correct authentication code, performing the first action

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first sequence of one or more gestures comprises a swipe gesture.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the event is a received message, and plurality of action option UI elements comprises two or more of:

a delete UI element, a mark-as-read UI element, a mark-as-favorite UI element, a reply UI element, a mark-as-spam UI element, and a move-to-folder UI element.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the swipe gesture causes the notification element to extend downward.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the event is a received message, the method further comprising:

responsive to detecting the first sequence of one or more gestures, displaying a preview of the received message in the first area of the user interface.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the action option UI elements comprises a glyph received from the application that corresponds to an action specified by the application.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein one or more of the actions are performed without displaying the associated application in a second area of the user interface.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to detecting a second sequence of one or more gestures in the first area of the user interface, displaying the associated application in a second area of the user interface.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of action option UI elements comprises a first action option UI element, the method further comprising:

responsive to detecting a selection of the first action option UI element, displaying two or more additional action option UI elements.

12. A method for providing interactive notification elements, comprising:

at an electronic device with one or more processors and memory;

receiving a first message;

displaying a first notification element in a first area of a user interface, the first notification element comprising information about the received first message;

while displaying the first notification element, displaying a first UI element for initiating a reply to the first message;

responsive to receiving a selection of the first UI element, receiving information corresponding to a user-generated reply to the first message; and

responsive to receiving a send input, providing the user-generated reply for transmission.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the user-generated reply comprises a text-based message.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein receiving a send input comprises receiving a selection of a second UI element.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the user-generated reply comprises an audio message.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein receiving a send input comprises detecting a lowering motion of the electronic device.

17. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

responsive to providing the user-generated reply for transmission, ceasing to display the first notification element in the first area of the user interface.

18. The method of claim 12, wherein the information for the user-generated reply is received without displaying an associated application in a second area of the user interface.

19. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

while displaying the first notification element, receiving a second message;

responsive to providing the user-generated reply for transmission;

displaying a second notification element in the first area of the user interface, the notification element comprising information about the received second message.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

responsive to receiving the second message, displaying an indication in the first notification element that the second message was received.

21. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

while displaying the first notification element, receiving a second message;

determining the second message is associated with the first message; and

displaying a second notification element in the first area of the user interface, the notification element comprising information about the received second message.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein displaying the second notification element comprises maintaining information for the user-generated reply that has already been received.

23. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

responsive to receiving-an input that corresponds to selection of the first notification element, displaying an associated application in a second area of the user interface.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein displaying the associated application in a second area of the user interface comprises maintaining information for the user-generated reply that has already been received.

25. The method of claim 12, wherein the first UI element is a text entry field.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein displaying the first UI element comprises:

receiving a sequence of one or more gestures in the first area of the user interface; and

responsive to receiving the sequence of one or more gestures, displaying the first UI element in a second area of the user interface.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein:

the first UI element includes a text entry field and an audio entry button for initiating recording of audio; and

responsive to receiving a selection of the first UI element;

in accordance with a determination that the selection includes selection of the text entry field, displaying soft keyboard on the display and replacing the audio entry button with a send button for sending a text message; and

in accordance with a determination that the selection includes selection of the audio entry button, initiating recording of audio and replacing the text entry field with a representation of the audio being recorded.

28. The method of claim 12, wherein the first message is an audio message, the method further comprising:

while displaying the first notification element, responsive to detecting a raising motion of the electronic device, playing the first message.

29. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

while displaying the first notification element for the first message, receiving a second message;

in response to receiving the second message;

in accordance with a determination that the second message is not associated with the first message, delaying displaying a second notification element for the second message until the first notification element has been dismissed.

30. The method of claim 29, further comprising:

while displaying the second notification element, detecting a request to dismiss the first notification element, and

in response to detecting the request to dismiss the first notification element, ceasing to display the first notification element; and

after ceasing to display the first notification element, displaying the second notification element.

31. The method of claim 29, further comprising, in response to receiving the second message, in accordance with a determination that the second message is associated with the first message, updating the first notification element to indicate that the second message has been received.

32. A method for providing interactive notification elements, comprising:

receiving from an application a registration message corresponding to a notification element instance for the application, the registration message comprising a notification element category and a mapping of one or more actions associated with the notification element category for one or more notification element contexts;

registering the notification element instance for the application;

receiving, from an application sever associated with the application, an instruction to provide a notification element, the instruction comprising a notification element category and a notification element context;

identifying for the received instruction, the one or more actions associated with the notification element category and notification element context for the instruction received from the application server based on the registered notification element instances; and

providing the notification element and the identified one or more actions associated with the notification element category for display in the notification element context.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein providing the notification element and the identified one or more actions comprises:

responsive to the notification element context indicating a lock screen context, displaying a lock screen notification element user interface;

responsive to the notification element context indicating a notification element center context, displaying a notification element center user interface;

responsive to the notification element context indicating a home screen context, displaying a home screen user interface; and

responsive to the notification element context indicating a modal alert context, displaying a modal alert user interface.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the modal alert context allows for displaying a greater number of actions than the lock screen context, notification element center context, and home screen context.

35. The method of claim 33, wherein the modal alert context allows a maximum of six actions for display.

36. The method of claim 33, wherein the lock screen context, notification element center context, and home screen context allow a maximum of two actions for display.

37. The method of claim 32, wherein the registration message further comprises a mapping of the one or more actions to a foreground status or a background status.

38. The method of claim 37, further comprising:

while displaying the notification element;

responsive to receiving an input indicating an action mapped to a foreground status, displaying a full application user interface for an application associated with the notification element; and

responsive to receiving an input indicating an action mapped to a background status, performing the indicated action without displaying a full application user interface for an application associated with the notification element.

39. The method of claim 38, further comprising:

responsive to the performing of an action mapped to a background status exceeding a time limit, ceasing to perform the action.

40. The method of claim 32, wherein the received instruction comprises a notification element context indicative of a network context, and providing the notification element and the identified one or more actions associated with the notification element category for display in the notification element context comprises transmitting the notification element to a network observer and the identified one or more actions.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein the network observer transmits the notification element and the identified one or more actions to a third party receiver.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein the third party receiver is associated with an automobile entertainment system.

43. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:

detect an occurrence of an event associated with an application;

in response to detecting the occurrence of the event, display a notification element in a first area of a user interface, the notification element comprising information about the event;

responsive to detecting a first sequence of one or more inputs that correspond to the first area of the user interface, display a plurality of action option UI elements that include a first UI element and a second UI element, wherein selection of the first UI element causes the application to perform a first action and selection of the second UI element causes the application to perform a second action that is different from the first action.

44. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:

receive a first message;

display a first notification element in a first area of a user interface, the first notification element comprising information about the received first message;

while displaying the first notification element, display a first UI element for initiating a reply to the first message;

responsive to receiving a selection of the first UI element, receive information corresponding to a user-generated reply to the first message; and

responsive to receiving a send input, provide the user-generated reply for transmission.

45. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:

receive from an application a registration message corresponding to a notification element instance for the application, the registration message comprising a notification element category and a mapping of one or more actions associated with the notification element category for one or more notification element contexts;

register the notification element instance for the application;

receive, from an application sever associated with the application, an instruction to provide a notification element, the instruction comprising a notification element category and a notification element context;

identify for the received instruction, the one or more actions associated with the notification element category and notification element context for the instruction received from the application server based on the registered notification element instances; and

provide the notification element and the identified one or more actions associated with the notification element category for display in the notification element context.

46. A device comprising a processor and a memory, the device configured to:

detect an occurrence of an event associated with an application;

in response to detecting the occurrence of the event, display a notification element in a first area of a user interface, the notification element comprising information about the event;

responsive to detecting a first sequence of one or more inputs that correspond to the first area of the user interface, display a plurality of action option UI elements that include a first UI element and a second UI element, wherein selection of the first UI element causes the application to perform a first action and selection of the second UI element causes the application to perform a second action that is different from the first action.

47. A device comprising a processor and a memory, the device configured to:

receive a first message;

display a first notification element in a first area of a user interface, the first notification element comprising information about the received first message;

while displaying the first notification element, display a first UI element for initiating a reply to the first message;

responsive to receiving a selection of the first UI element, receive information corresponding to a user-generated reply to the first message; and

responsive to receiving a send input, provide the user-generated reply for transmission.

48. A device comprising a processor and a memory, the device configured to:

receive from an application a registration message corresponding to a notification element instance for the application, the registration message comprising a notification element category and a mapping of one or more actions associated with the notification element category for one or more notification element contexts;

register the notification element instance for the application;

receive, from an application sever associated with the application, an instruction to provide a notification element, the instruction comprising a notification element category and a notification element context;

identify for the received instruction, the one or more actions associated with the notification element category and notification element context for the instruction received from the application server based on the registered notification element instances; and

provide the notification element and the identified one or more actions associated with the notification element category for display in the notification element context.