Responsive environment sensor systems with delayed activation

• US 7,673,244 B2
• Filed: 06/30/2004
• Issued: 03/02/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/06/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Pitney Bowes Incorporated (Böwe Systec AG)
• Original Assignee: Pitney Bowes Incorporated (Böwe Systec AG)
• Inventors: Deshpande, Shivani, Zukowski, Deborra J., Norris, James R. Jr., Rojas, John W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hailu; Tadesse
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ulrich; Nicholas S
• Application Number:
  US10/710,293
• Publication Number:
  US 20050273715A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,071 Days
• Field of Search: 715/805, 715/802, 715/744, 713/100
• US Class Current: 715/744
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

Systems and methods for delayed function activation in a responsive environment are described. A responsive environment includes an intermediary system and notification manager to determine when a responsive environment will launch an application triggered by a sensed event. The environment includes sensor components and transparent software components that reside wholly within the environment for providing responsiveness. The environment also includes interactive software components that give users the means to provide input and/or experience output. Since changes to the interaction components may disrupt the user by requiring the user'"'"'s attention when it is not convenient, the system helps the user manage the responsive environment by using an application/function delay technique. The environment uses an intelligence and notification mechanism to determine what might be useful and primes the apparatus to provide that functionality. However, the user actually initiates the execution of that function.

Claims

1. A method for processing a change of state to update from a first environment state to a second environment state in a responsive environment comprising:

determining a type of response that the environment should provide in response to the change of state to reach the second environment state;

defining response descriptions for the needed response instance having needed inputs in an application model;

storing the needed inputs in the response description;

creating a new notification;

defining a new notification description in a notification model;

associating the response descriptions within the new notification description; and

then providing the new notification to a notification manager, wherein the notification manager is configured to receive a plurality of new notifications for a user received over time and to receive at least one response to the plurality of the new notifications from the user at the convenience of the user,

then continuing processing in the first environment state until the at least one user response is received from the user, wherein the at least one user response includes revised needed inputs; and

launching an application using the revised needed inputs when the user accepts the notification.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the response comprises launching an application and effecting a further change of state comprising sending a notification associated with the response.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining if the response includes an immediate response event; and

if the response includes an immediate response event, initiating the immediate response event before providing the new notification to the notification manager.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein:

providing the new notification to a notification manager comprises displaying a non-intrusive icon in a window.

4. A method for processing a response notification selection from a user to update from a first environment state in a responsive environment comprising:

reporting to the responsive environment that the response notification has been selected;

accessing the description for a notification object corresponding to the selection from a notification model;

retrieving a Uniform Resource Indicator (URI) for a corresponding application;

retrieving a description of the application;

displaying information about the notification and application parameters to the user;

querying the user to allow the user the opportunity to respond to accept or reject the notification from a list including a plurality of notifications received over time and continuing processing in the first environment state until the user responds, wherein the user response includes revised needed inputs; and

launching the corresponding application using the revised needed inputs when the user accepts the notification.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein:

reporting to the responsive environment that the user has selected a response notification comprises;

notifying an initiator.

6. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

terminating processing of the response notification if the user rejects the response notification.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein:

terminating processing comprises terminating an application.

8. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

querying the user to allow the user the opportunity to explicitly accept the notification.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

if the notification is accepted, launching the application using the application parameters.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

querying the user to allow the user the opportunity to accept the notification and to provide input to change the application parameters.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

if the user provides input to change the application parameters, creating new application parameters based upon user input.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

launching the application using the new application parameters.

13. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

processing a default implicit answer to the query using a timer wherein expiration of a time out count results in a selection of the default implicit answer.

14. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

permitting the user to further delay accepting or rejecting the notification.