Snooze support for event reminders

• US 7,836,400 B2
• Filed: 03/31/2006
• Issued: 11/16/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: May, Darrell, Bocking, Andrew D., Vander Veen, Raymond
• Primary Examiner(s): Bashore; William L
• Assistant Examiner(s): Takele; Meseker
• Application Number:
  US11/278,328
• Publication Number:
  US 20070229517A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,691 Days
• Field of Search: 715/710, 345/501, 709/206
• US Class Current: 715/710
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting

Abstract

Snooze support for event reminders produced on a hand held mobile device is disclosed. Snooze support in at least one example embodiment is characterized by an event reminder rescheduling method. This event reminder rescheduling method includes the step of prompting for a device user to take one of a number of actions in relation to an event reminder released from an event reminders queue. One of the number of actions is requesting, through operation of one or more input components of the mobile device, that the event reminder be generated again after a lapse of a snooze time.

Claims

1. A hand-held mobile electronic device comprising:

a controller including at least one processor, for controlling operation of the mobile device;

a display coupled to the controller;

an input device coupled to the controller;

a storage coupled to the controller, the storage storing event information identifying scheduled events, the event information including for at least some of the scheduled events a reminder time at which an event reminder is to be generated; and

a rigid case dimensioned to be held in a hand of a user, the case housing the controller, the display, the input device and the storage;

the controller being configured for;

(i) upon or after the reminder time for an event, displaying on the display an event reminder including information about the event, the event reminder including a plurality of selectable options including a SNOOZE option;

(ii) upon or after displaying the event reminder, displaying a plurality of selectable snooze time durations for the SNOOZE option and accepting input selecting one of the plurality of snooze time durations; and

(iii) upon receiving, through the input device, a selection of the SNOOZE option, causing the event reminder to be removed from the display and causing the event reminder to subsequently be redisplayed on the display after the snooze time duration.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the input device includes a combined depressible and rotatable input mechanism, wherein the controller is configured for causing a selection symbol to move among the selectable options on the display upon rotation of the input mechanism, and depression of the input mechanism when the selection symbol is positioned at one of the selectable options results in selection of the selectable option at which the selection symbol is positioned.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein the controller is configured for accepting input through the input device to configure the snooze time duration for an event reminder.

4. The device of claim 1 wherein the input device includes a depressible scrollwheel and a further depressible key, and the controller is configured to display the selectable snooze option with a default snooze time duration, and to change the displayed snooze time duration in response to rotation of the scrollwheel while the further depressible key is pressed.

7. The device of claim 1 wherein the scheduled events include calendar events and task events.

8. The hand-held mobile electronic device of claim 1 wherein the storage includes the snooze time duration and wherein the controller is configured to configure the snooze time duration by modifying the snooze time duration in the storage.

9. The mobile electronic device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of user selectable snooze time durations are displayed on an area of the display which was occupied, at least in part, by at least one of the selectable options.

5. The device of 1 wherein the controller is configured for causing the plurality of selectable options to be displayed in a dialog window, the options also including a DISMISS event reminder option and an OPEN event reminder option.

6. The mobile electronic device of claim 5, wherein displaying the event reminder further comprises automatically positioning a selection symbol at the DISMISS event reminder option.

10. An event reminder rescheduling method comprising:

providing a hand-held mobile device having a processor, a display, at least one input component and at least one processor readable medium storing an event reminders queue from which event reminders are released at predetermined times;

releasing an event reminder from said queue when a first pre-established reminder time has been reached;

generating, upon said display and after the event reminder has been released, a Graphical User Interface (GUI) event reminder window that shows particulars of said event reminder, the event reminder including a prompt for one of a number of actions in relation to said event reminder, one of said actions being requesting, through operation of said input component, that said event reminder be generated again after a lapse of a snooze time duration,

generating, upon said display after generating the event reminder window, a selection list of selectable snooze time durations;

receiving an input through the input component selecting one of the selectable snooze time durations as said snooze time duration;

configuring the snooze time duration in response to the selection;

receiving the request that said event reminder be generated again after said lapse of the snooze time duration;

calculating a second reminder time equal to said first reminder time plus said snooze time duration;

repositioning said event reminder in said queue based on said second reminder time;

re-releasing said event reminder from said queue when said second reminder time has been reached; and

generating, upon said display after the event reminder has been re-released, another GUI event reminder window that redisplays said event reminder particulars.

11. The method as claimed in claim 10 further comprising generating a GUI options screen for a scheduling application, said snooze time duration being configurable from within said options screen.

12. The method as claimed in claim 10 further comprising generating audible sounds concurrently with generation of said event reminder windows.

13. The method as claimed in claim 10 wherein said at least one input component is a scrollwheel, said scrollwheel being rotatable to permit navigation through selectable options within said reminder window, said scrollwheel also being depressible to choose one of said selectable options.

14. A mobile electronic device comprising:

a casing configured to be hand held during use of the mobile device;

a display housed in the casing;

at least one input component located in the casing;

a processor housed in the casing and coupled the display and the input component;

an event reminders thread associated with the processor for releasing and re-releasing an event reminder from a queue when first and second reminder times respectively have been reached;

a module associated with the processor for receiving requests initiated through operation of said at least one input component, said module (i) causing generation of first and second Graphical User Interface (GUI) event reminder windows upon said display in response to the release and re-release respectively of said event reminder from said queue, each of said reminder windows showing particulars of said event reminder;

(ii) displaying a plurality of selectable snooze time durations;

(iii) receiving input selecting one of the plurality of snooze time durations; and

processing, prior to the re-release of the event reminder, a request that said event reminder be generated again after a lapse of the snooze time duration,

said event reminders thread (i) calculating said second reminder time by adding said snooze time duration to said first reminder time; and

(ii) repositioning said event reminder in said queue based on said second reminder time.

15. The device as claimed in claim 14 wherein said at least one input component is a scrollwheel, said scrollwheel rotatable to permit navigation through selectable options within said reminder window, said scrollwheel also depressible to choose one of said selectable options.

16. The device as claimed in claim 15 wherein said at least one input component also includes a further depressible key.

17. The device as claimed in claim 16 wherein said module detects simultaneous operation of the further key and said scrollwheel when the first event reminder window is generated upon said display, and selects the value for said snooze time duration in dependence on the simultaneous operation.

18. The device as claimed in claim 17 wherein said snooze time duration can be selected through the simultaneous operation from among:

1 minute, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes and 30 minutes.

19. The device as claimed in claim 14 wherein said snooze time duration is modifiable from within said first event reminder window.