AGGREGATED, INTERACTIVE COMMUNICATION TIMELINE

• US 20160283060A1
• Filed: 06/03/2016
• Published: 09/29/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/22/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Ickman, Steven W., Cheng, Lili
• Granted Patent: US 10,466,864 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 7/08 Sorting, i.e. grouping record carriers in numerical or other ordered sequence according to the classification of at least some of the information they carry by merging two or more sets of carriers in ordered sequence G06F7/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/04 Protocols for data compression, e.g. ROHC
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/7243 with interactive means for internal management of messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72445 for supporting Internet browser applications

Abstract

Described is a technology by which an interactive timeline user interface shows communication data aggregated from various sources (e.g., a telephone service, a website, an application and/or the like) in time order. To reduce the number of items in the timeline, certain items may be combined into a compressed item, e.g., items from the same source and/or of the same type may be rolled up into a rolled up item. The user may also interact to reply to a data item. For example, an editor may be provided upon interaction with a data item in the timeline, and the type of reply that is sent may automatically match the type of data item, (e.g., a text message reply to a text message).

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving communication data from one or more communication sources, the communication data comprising a first piece of communication data comprising a first data item and one or more second data items, the first data item being received after at least one of the one or more second data items;

aggregating the first data item and the one or more second data items associated with the first piece of communication data;

determining that the first data item is an important data item;

based on the determining, compressing the one or more second data items associated with the first piece of communication data into a compressed item; and

presenting, simultaneously, in an integrated communication interface, the first data item of the first piece of communication data and the compressed one or more second data items as a first timeline item.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein a user specifies importance levels.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the content comprises at least one of a post, notification, update, microblog, photograph, or thumbnail.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining that an importance level of the first data item is greater than an importance level of the one or more second data items.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein data items comprise data item content, and wherein the data item content comprises at least one of text identifying an author of the data item content, text identifying a date associated with the data item content, or an icon representing a source sender of the data item content.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving user interaction to expand the compressed one or more second data items, wherein expanding the compressed one or more second data items displays respective data items of the compressed one or more second data items on the user interface.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising receiving user interaction to collapse a portion of the expanded compressed one or more second data items.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

organizing representations of the communication data and associated compressed items output to the user interface by level of importance.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein a level of importance for a data item is based on a sender of the data item.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein a level of importance for a data item is based on content of the data item.

11. In a computing environment, a system comprising:

one or more processors; and

a timeline program instructing the one or more processors to;

receive communication data from one or more communication sources, the communication data comprising a first piece of communication data comprising a first data item and one or more second data items, the first data item being received after at least one of the one or more second data items;

aggregate the first data item and the one or more second data items associated with the first piece of communication data;

determine that the first data item is an important data item;

based on the determining, compress the one or more second data items associated with the first piece of communication data into a compressed item; and

present, simultaneously, in an integrated communication interface, the first data item of the first piece of communication data and the compressed one or more second data items as a first timeline item.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein data items comprise data item content, and wherein the data item content comprises at least one of text identifying an author of the data item content, text identifying a date associated with the data item content, or an icon representing a source sender of the data item content.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein items displayed on the interactive timeline interface are sorted by level of importance.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the level of importance is based on a sender of the data item.

15. The system of claim 11, further comprising:

an editor configured to provide a level of importance for data items.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein the content comprises at least one of a post, notification, update, microblog, photograph, or thumbnail.

17. One or more computer-readable storage media comprising computer-executable instructions, that when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

receiving communication data from one or more communication sources, the communication data comprising a first piece of communication data comprising a first data item and one or more second data items, the first data item being received after at least one of the one or more second data items;

aggregating the first data item and the one or more second data items associated with the first piece of communication data;

determining that the first data item is an important data item;

based on the determining, compressing the one or more second data items associated with the first piece of communication data into a compressed item; and

presenting, simultaneously, in an integrated communication interface, the first data item of the first piece of communication data and the compressed one or more second data items as a first timeline item.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein a user specifies importance levels.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the computer-executable instructions further cause the processor to perform an operation comprising organizing representations of the communication data and associated compressed items output to the user interface by level of importance.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein a level of importance for a data item is based on a sender of the data item.