Methods and arrangements for managing computer messages

• US 8,156,434 B2
• Filed: 06/30/2007
• Issued: 04/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lenovo PC International Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Lenovo Singapore Pte Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Finamore, Jamie Lynn
• Primary Examiner(s): Bonshock, Dennis G
• Application Number:
  US11/772,203
• Publication Number:
  US 20090007168A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,746 Days
• Field of Search: 715/863, 715/705, 715/808
• US Class Current: 715/705
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/33 Arrangements for monitoring the users' behaviour or opinions
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/45 for identifying users

Abstract

An arrangement for determining those optimal times to permit an important pop-up message to be displayed by way of garnering a user'"'"'s attention, while permitting less important messages to be displayed at times when a user'"'"'s attention is unlikely to be garnered. In accordance with a particularly preferred embodiment, an arrangement is provided to recognize whether a user is looking towards a computer monitor and, at such times, to determine whether a blink rate of the user'"'"'s eyes corresponds to a degree of focus and concentration that would ensure a strong likelihood of the user seeing or “catching” a message that may then appear. If such likelihood is thus determined to be strong, then a critical message may preferably then be displayed.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

one or more processors;

a system memory in communication with the one or more processors;

one or more computing device display mediums;

one or more monitoring devices acting to monitor a user'"'"'s focus on the one or more computing device display mediums; and

a message management module acting to manage system messages responsive to monitoring by the one or more monitoring devices, wherein said message management module acts to;

categorize system messages as first category messages comprising one or more critical messages or second category messages comprising one or more non-critical messages, wherein the one or more critical messages includes at least one message selected from the group consisting of;

a low battery warning message and a back-up reminder message;

filter display of the system messages on the one or more computing device display mediums based on a user'"'"'s focus as determined by the one or more monitoring devices, wherein filtering comprises;

suppressing display of the one or more first category messages and permitting display of the one or more second category messages at the one or more computing device display mediums responsive to the user'"'"'s focus being below a threshold value; and

suppressing display of the one or more second category messages and permitting display of the one or more first category messages at the one or more computing device display mediums responsive to the user'"'"'s focus being above a threshold value.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein:

the one or more monitoring devices act to monitor a user blink rate; and

said message management module acts to;

suppress display of the one or more second category messages and permit display of the one or more first category messages at the one or more computing device display mediums responsive to a user blink rate below a predetermined threshold; and

permit display of the one or more second category messages and suppress display of the one or more first category messages at the one or more computing device display mediums responsive to a user blink rate above a predetermined threshold.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein said message management module acts to manage pop-up messages responsive to monitoring by the one or more monitoring devices.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the one or more monitoring devices act to:

determine whether a user is facing the one or more computing device display mediums; and

determine whether a user'"'"'s eyes are directed towards the one or more computing device display mediums.

5. The system according to claim 4, wherein the one or more monitoring devices further act to determine whether a user'"'"'s eyes are directed towards the one or more computing device display mediums for a predetermined time span and to thereupon prompt a comparison of the user'"'"'s blink rate to a predetermined threshold.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the one or more monitoring devices comprise one or more facial recognition modules.

7. The system according to claim 6, wherein the one or more monitoring devices comprise one or more eye tracking modules which measure the user'"'"'s blink rate.

8. A method comprising:

monitoring a user'"'"'s focus on one or more computing device display mediums utilizing one or more monitoring devices; and

configuring a message management module to manage messages responsive to monitoring by the one or more monitoring devices, wherein said message management module acts to;

categorize system messages as first category messages comprising one or more critical messages or second category messages comprising one or more non-critical messages, wherein the one or more critical messages includes at least one message selected from the group consisting of;

a low battery warning message and a back-up reminder message;

filter display of the system messages on the one or more computing device display mediums based on a user'"'"'s focus as determined by the one or more monitoring devices, wherein filtering comprises;

suppressing display of the one or more first category messages and permitting display of the one or more second category messages at the one or more computing device display mediums responsive to the user'"'"'s focus being below a threshold value; and

suppressing display of the one or more second category messages and permitting display of the one or more first category messages at the one or more computing device display mediums responsive to the user'"'"'s focus being above a threshold value.

9. The system according to claim 8, wherein:

said monitoring comprises monitoring a user blink rate;

said message management module acts to;

suppress display of the one or more second category messages and permit display of the one or more first category messages at the one or more computing device display mediums responsive to a user blink rate below a predetermined threshold; and

permit display of the one or more second category messages and suppress display of the one or more first category messages at the one or more computing device display mediums responsive to a user blink rate above a predetermined threshold.

10. The system according to claim 8, wherein said monitoring comprises:

determining whether a user is facing the one or more computing device display mediums; and

determining whether a user'"'"'s eyes are directed towards the one or more computing device display mediums.

11. The system according to claim 10, wherein the one or more monitoring devices further act to determine whether a user'"'"'s eyes are directed towards the one or more computing device display mediums for a predetermined time span and to thereupon prompt a comparison of the user'"'"'s blink rate to a predetermined threshold.

12. A program storage device readable by machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps comprising:

monitoring a user'"'"'s focus on one or more computing device display mediums utilizing one or more monitoring devices; and

managing computer messages utilizing a message management module responsive to monitoring by the one or more monitoring devices, wherein said message management module acts to;

categorize system messages as first category messages comprising one or more critical messages or second category messages comprising one or more non-critical messages, wherein the one or more critical messages includes at least one message selected from the group consisting of;

a low battery warning message and a back-up reminder message;

filter display of the system messages on the one or more computing device display mediums based on a user'"'"'s focus as determined by the one or more monitoring devices, wherein filtering comprises;

suppressing display of the one or more first category messages and permitting display of the one or more second category messages at the one or more computing device display mediums responsive to the user'"'"'s focus being below a threshold value; and

suppressing display of the one or more second category messages and permitting display of the one or more first category messages at the one or more computing device display mediums responsive to the user'"'"'s focus being above a threshold value.