System and method for message display and management

• US 8,739,071 B2
• Filed: 02/27/2004
• Issued: 05/27/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/27/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: Klassen, Gerhard D., Wormald, Chris, Yach, David
• Primary Examiner(s): KEATON, SHERROD L
• Application Number:
  US10/787,093
• Publication Number:
  US 20050193345A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,742 Days
• Field of Search: 379/88.13, 379/88.11, 379/88.12, 715/835, 715/810, 715/840, 715/751, 715/747, 715/752, 709/209, 707/104.1, 455/413, 455/412.2
• US Class Current: 715/835
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/224 providing notification on incoming messages, e.g. pushed notifications of received messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/58 Message adaptation for wireless communication

Abstract

A collating application for message display and management executes on a communication device. The communication device includes a plurality of message applications associated with various communication channels, each message application receiving and storing messages associated with one of the various communications channels. The collating application dynamically accesses messages stored by the plurality of message applications to retrieve messages that meet defined matching criteria. The collating application permits the user to select a listing of the heterogeneous retrieved messages in a single view on the communication device. Icons associated with the matching criteria are displayable and vary in accordance with the presence or absence of unread messages meeting the matching criteria.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving a plurality of messages of different message types at a communication device from a plurality of senders;

displaying a main application screen on the communication device, the main application screen comprising a plurality of icons each associated with a different application;

displaying, in the main application screen;

a first icon associated with a selected one of the plurality of senders when there are no new unread messages stored at the communication device associated with the selected sender; and

a second icon associated with the selected sender in place of the first icon upon receipt of a new message at the communication device from the selected sender; and

displaying, in a further screen on the communication device, a plurality of messages in a plurality of message listings associated with the selected sender in a plurality of message areas, the plurality of messages being of different message types,

each message listing and each message area being associated with a distinct one of the different message types, each message area comprising an indicator of the associated message type and a corresponding message listing, and each message listing comprising at least one indicator of at least one message associated with the selected sender of the associated message type,

the plurality of message areas including a new message area, the new message area comprising an indication of a newly received message associated with the selected sender and of any one of the different message types, at least a portion of the newly received message, and an indication of the message type for that newly received message.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the further screen comprises at least five message areas, wherein at least two of the message areas are horizontally separated and at least two of the message areas are vertically separated.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein one of the two vertically separated message areas is positioned below the two horizontally separated messages on the further screen.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising launching an application associated with one of the message types in response to a selection of the message area associated with said message type.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the indicator of the associated message type comprises a textual heading and selection of the message area comprises a selection of the textual heading of said message area.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the indicator of the associated message type comprises a textual heading.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the different message types are selected from email, instant messaging, short message service, and voicemail.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one indicator of the at least one message comprises textual content from the at least one message.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the at least one indicator of the at least one message further comprises a time associated with said message.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of message listings represent both messages sent from and messages received at the communication device.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the message areas comprises a plurality of indicators, the method further comprising scrolling through the plurality of indicators on the further screen.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing each of the received plurality of messages in a corresponding one of a plurality of message stores, each message store being associated with a different message type, and wherein displaying the plurality of messages comprises retrieving message data for messages associated with the selected sender from each of the plurality of message stores, each of the at least one indicator of at least one message comprising retrieved message data for that message.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising updating the further screen upon receipt of a new message from the selected sender.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the communication device is a wireless mobile communication device.

29. The method of claim 1, wherein the further screen comprises at least three message areas, two of the message areas being horizontally separated and two of the message areas being vertically separated, and wherein the new message area is disposed along a top portion of the further screen.

15. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code executable to cause a communication device to carry out the method of:

receiving a plurality of messages of different message types at a communication device from a plurality of senders;

displaying a main application screen on the communication device, the main application screen comprising a plurality of icons each associated with a different application;

displaying, in the main application screen;

a first icon associated with a selected one of the plurality of senders when there are no new unread messages stored at the communication device associated with the selected sender; and

a second icon associated with the selected sender in place of the first icon upon receipt of a new message at the communication device from the selected sender; and

displaying, in a further screen on the communication device, a plurality of messages in a plurality of message listings associated with the selected sender in a plurality of message areas, the plurality of messages being of different message types,

each message listing and each message area being associated with a distinct one of the different message types, each message area comprising an indicator of the associated message type and a corresponding message listing, and each message listing comprising at least one indicator of at least one message associated with the selected sender of the associated message type,

the plurality of message areas including a new message area, the new message area comprising an indication of a newly received message associated with the selected sender and of any one of the different message types, at least a portion of the newly received message, and an indication of the message type for that newly received message.

16. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the further screen comprises at least five message areas, wherein at least two of the message areas are horizontally separated and at least two of the message areas are vertically separated.

17. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein one of the two vertically separated message areas is positioned below the two horizontally separated messages on the further screen.

18. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the method further comprises launching an application associated with one of the message types in response to a selection of the message area associated with said message type.

19. The computer program product of claim 18, wherein the indicator of the associated message type comprises a textual heading and selection of the message area comprises a selection of the textual heading of said message area.

20. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the indicator of the associated message type comprises a textual heading.

21. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the different message types are selected from email, instant messaging, short message service, and voicemail.

22. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the at least one indicator of the at least one message comprises textual content from the at least one message.

23. The computer program product of claim 22, wherein the at least one indicator of the at least one message further comprises a time associated with said message.

24. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein at least one of the message areas comprises a plurality of indicators.

25. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the plurality of message listings represent both messages sent from and messages received at the communication device.

26. The computer program product of claim 24, wherein the method further comprises scrolling through the plurality of indicators on the further screen.

27. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the method further comprises storing each of the received plurality of messages in a corresponding one of a plurality of message stores, each message store being associated with a different message type, and wherein displaying the plurality of messages comprises retrieving message data for messages associated with the selected sender from each of the plurality of message stores, each of the at least one indicator of at least one message comprising retrieved message data for that message.

28. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the method further comprises updating the further screen upon receipt of a new message from the selected sender.

30. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the further screen comprises at least three message areas, two of the message areas being horizontally separated and two of the message areas being vertically separated, and wherein the new message area is disposed along a top portion of the further screen.