Relationship user interface

• US 7,213,206 B2
• Filed: 09/09/2003
• Issued: 05/01/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/09/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brian J. Fogg
• Original Assignee: Brian J. Fogg
• Inventors: Fogg, Brian J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lo; Weilun
• Assistant Examiner(s): ENGLAND, SARA M
• Application Number:
  US10/659,580
• Publication Number:
  US 20050055639A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,330 Days
• Field of Search: 715/835, 715/706, 715/748, 715/753, 715757-758, 715/769, 715/752
• US Class Current: 715/706
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

A user interface having a user icon and associate icons to visualize an interpersonal relationship and to communicate in order to nurture the relationship. In one embodiment of the invention, the user icon represents a user and the associate icons represent numerous associates. The associate icons are positioned radially about the user icon on the user interface to visualize a relationship between the user and each associate.

Claims

1. A user interface to facilitate a communication between a user and an associate comprising:

a user icon representing a user;

a plurality of associate icons representing a plurality of respective associates, wherein the position of each associate icon relative to the user icon illustrates a relationship between the user and the associate;

a positioning tool enabling the user to selectively position each associate icon at any location within the user interface to define the relationship between the user and each of the associates; and

a communication tool enabling the user to compose a communication and enabling the user to transmit the communication to at least one of the associates, wherein the communication tool is to be displayed upon selecting at least one of the corresponding associate icons.

2. The user interface of claim 1, wherein a distance between the user icon and each associate icon represents an importance of each relationship.

3. The user interface of claim 1, wherein each associate icon is capable of being repositioned by the user via an input device.

4. The user interface of claim 1, wherein each associate icon is a digital image of the corresponding associate.

5. The user interface of claim 1, wherein-the communication tool includes a voice communication tool to transmit a voice communication from the user to the at least one of the associates.

6. The user interface of claim 1, wherein the selecting the at least one of the corresponding associate icons includes applying a single-click to the at least one of the corresponding associate icons via an input device.

7. The user interface of claim 5, wherein the voice communication tool includes an associate icon section to display an image of the at least one of the associates.

8. The user interface of claim 5, wherein the voice communication tool includes a communication section to visualize previous communications between the user and the at least one of the associates.

9. The user interface of claim 1, further comprising:

a transmission component to transmit digital content to an associate upon dropping the digital content onto the corresponding associate icon.

10. The user interface of claim 1, wherein the user is capable of selectively indicating an availability to communicate with an associate via the user interface.

11. The user interface of claim 1, wherein the relative position of each associate icon to the user icon varies automatically based on a perceived change in the corresponding relationship.

12. The user interface of claim 1, wherein at least one of the associate icons is to perform an action upon a happening of an event.

13. The user interface of claim 12, wherein the action includes animating the at least one of the associate icons upon receiving a communication from the associate associated with the at least one of the associate icons.

14. The user interface of claim 1, wherein the user icon is to perform an action upon a happening of an event.

15. A method for visualizing interpersonal relationships comprising:

displaying a user icon representing a user on a user interface;

displaying one or more associate icons on the user interface, wherein the one or more associate icons represent one or more associates, wherein the one or more associate icons are positioned radially about the user icon, wherein each of the one or more associate icons are positioned on the user interface to visualize a relationship between the user and the one or more associates;

automatically repositioning one of the associate icons radially relative to the user icon based on extent of content between the user and the associate; and

further

enabling the user to selectively position each associate icon at any location within the user interface to define the relationship between the user and each of the associates.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein positions of the associate icons relative to the user icon represent importance to the user of each relationship between the user and each associate.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

activating a voice communication tool to transmit a voice communication between the user and one of the associates upon selecting the associate icons representing the one of the associates.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the selecting includes performing a single click on the associate icon representing the one of the associates via an input device.

19. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

initiating a transmission of digital content to one of the associates upon dropping the digital content onto the associate icons representing the one of the associates.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

attaching the digital content to a communication when the communication is initiated within a predetermined amount of time of initiating the transmission of the digital content; and

transmitting the communication with the attached digital content.

21. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

enabling a composition of a communication to one of the associates upon selecting the associate icon representing the one of the associates.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the communication is a voice communication.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the voice communication includes background music.

24. The method of claim 15, wherein the one or more associate icons are to perform an action upon a happening of an event.

25. The method of claim 15, wherein the user icon is to perform an action upon a happening of an event.

26. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

rearranging the position of the one or more associate icons based on a perceived change in the relationship between the user and each of the associates associated with each of the associate icons.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the perceived change in the relationship is based on a number of communications between the user and the associate associated with each of the one or more associate icons.

31. The method of claim 15, wherein the extent of the contact between the user and the associate is based on at least one of:

a number of times the user and associate have communicated within a specific time frame, a length of a composed or received text communication between the user and the associate, an amount of time the user and associate have spent communicating, a length of time the user and the associate have known each other, a number of urgent communications received by the user from the associate within a time frame, and a geographic distance between the user and the associate.

32. The method of claim 15, wherein a magnitude of the repositioning is dependent on a type of the relationship between the user and the associate.

28. A method of exchanging profile information comprising:

displaying a first user interface graphically presenting strength of a relationship between a user and an associate based on extent of contact between the user and the associate;

receiving a signal indicating dropping of a user icon on the first user interface onto a first associate icon, the user icon representing the user, the first associate icon representing the associate;

in response to the signal, automatically sending user profile information associated with the user icon to the associate, including

a second associate icon representing the user to be displayed on a second user interface associated with the associate such that the second user interface graphically presents the strength of the relationship between the user and the associate and further enabling the user to selectively position the associate icon at any location within the first user interface to define the relationship between the user and each of the associates.

33. The method of claim 28, wherein graphically presenting the strength of the relationship includes at least one of:

enlarging the first associate icon when the strength of the relationship increases, repositioning the first associate icon closer to the user icon when the strength of the relationship increases, and changing a color of the first associate icon when the strength of the relationship decreases.

29. A method of exchanging profile information comprising:

displaying a first user interface graphically presenting strengths of individual relationships between a user and each of a first and second associate based on extent of contact between the user and each associate;

receiving a signal indicating dropping of a first associate icon on the first user interface onto a second associate icon on the first user interface, the first associate icon representing the first associate, the second associate icon representing the second associate;

in response to the signal, automatically sending associate profile information associated with the first associate icon to the second associate including

a third associate icon representing the first associate to be displayed on a second user interface associated with the second associate such that the second user interface graphically presents strengths of individual relationships between the second associate and each of the user and the first associate and further enabling the user to selectively position each associate icon at any location within the first user interface to define the relationship between the user and each of the associates.

30. A method of exchanging profile information comprising:

displaying a first user interface graphically presenting strengths of individual relationships between a user and each of a first and second associate based on extent of contact between the user and each associate;

receiving a first signal indicating dropping of a first associate icon on the first user interface onto an introduction area, the first associate icon representing the first associate;

receiving a second signal indicating dropping of a second associate icon on the first user interface onto the introduction area, the second associate icon representing the second associate

in response to the second signal, automatically sending a first associate profile information associated with the first associate to the second associate and automatically sending second associate profile information associated with the second associate to the first associate,

the first associate profile information including a third associate icon representing the first associate to be displayed on a second user interface associated with the second associate such that the second user interface graphically presents strengths of individual relationships between the second associate and the first associate,

the second associate profile information including a fourth associate icon representing the second associate to be displayed on a third user interface associated with the first associate such that the third user interface graphically presents strengths of individual relationships between the first associate and the second associate and further enabling the user to selectively position each associate icon at any location within the first user interface to define the relationship between the user and each of the associates.