Temporal incoming communication notification management

• US 8,855,723 B2
• Filed: 09/25/2011
• Issued: 10/07/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/25/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Stasit LLC
• Original Assignee: Ingenuity Sales & Services, LLC
• Inventors: Lynch, III, Peter J.
• Primary Examiner(s): El-Zoobi, Maria
• Application Number:
  US13/244,679
• Publication Number:
  US 20130077774A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,108 Days
• Field of Search: 379/188, 379/93.01, 379/93.02, 379/210.02, 379/207.16, 379/142.04
• US Class Current: 455/567
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/57 Arrangements for indicating or recording the number of the calling subscriber at the called subscriber's set at the operator set in a manual exchange H04M5/20
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/663 Preventing unauthorised calls to a telephone set
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/60 logging of communication history, e.g. outgoing or incoming calls, missed calls, messages or URLs
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/436 Arrangements for screening incoming calls , i.e. evaluating the characteristics of a call before deciding whether to answer it based on the calling party profile H04M3/42059; based on location H04M3/42348; based on presence H04M3/42365; diversion H04M3/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/537 Arrangements for indicating the presence of a recorded message , whereby the presence information might include a preview or summary of the message
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]

Abstract

Smart phone computer app. The method may include, if a number of an incoming phone call or incoming text message is not temporally allowed, not allowing for notification of the incoming phone call or incoming text according to a normal notification routine and generating a notification of the incoming call or incoming text according to a password-protected masked notification routine of the smart phone, wherein the password-protected masked notification routine of the smart phone includes adding an indication of the incoming phone call or incoming text message to a password-protected phone log or message log of the smart phone and precludes immediately displaying the incoming phone call or incoming text message information on a display of the smart phone, and further precludes adding an indication of the incoming phone call or incoming text message to a default phone log or message log of the smart phone.

Claims

1. A method of a smart phone including a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, and a display, the method comprising:

receiving into a user interface of the smart phone, indications of temporally authorized or unauthorized phone numbers;

receiving into the user interface of the smart phone, indications of time periods during which the temporally authorized or unauthorized phone numbers are temporally authorized or unauthorized;

generating a list of temporally authorized or unauthorized phone numbers and time periods based on said received indications of temporally authorized or unauthorized phone numbers and time periods;

storing the list of temporally authorized or unauthorized phone numbers and time periods in the memory of the smart phone;

comparing, using instructions executed by the processor of the smart phone, phone numbers and times of incoming phone calls and incoming text messages against the list of temporally authorized or unauthorized phone numbers and time periods;

if a number of an incoming phone call or incoming text message and is temporally allowed, allowing for notification of the incoming phone call or incoming text messages according to a default notification routine of the smart phone; and

if the number of the incoming phone call or incoming text message is not temporally allowed, not allowing for notification of the incoming phone call or incoming text according to the normal notification routine and generating a notification of the incoming call or incoming text according to a password-protected masked notification routine of the smart phone,

wherein the default notification routine of the smart phone includes immediately displaying incoming phone call or incoming text message information on the display of the smart phone and adding an indication of the incoming phone call or incoming text message to a default phone log or message log of the smart phone, and

wherein the password-protected masked notification routine of the smart phone includes adding an indication of the incoming phone call or incoming text message to a password-protected phone log or message log of the smart phone and precludes immediately displaying the incoming phone call or incoming text message information on the display of the smart phone, and further precludes adding an indication of the incoming phone call or incoming text message to a default phone log or message log of the smart phone.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the times of incoming phone calls and incoming text messages includes a calendar date.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein a temporally authorized or unauthorized phone number is temporally authorized or unauthorized for incoming phone calls and incoming text messages independently.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing an encrypted password;

receiving an entered password; and

if the number of the incoming phone call or incoming text message is not temporally allowed, displaying the indication of the incoming phone call or incoming text message only if the encrypted password and entered password match.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

storing a second encrypted password;

receiving a second entered password; and

if the number of the incoming phone call or incoming text message is not temporally allowed, displaying the indication of the incoming phone call or incoming text message only if the second encrypted password and second entered password match.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving operations, generating operation, storing operation, comparing operation, and allowing for notification operation are controlled by a smart phone app.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving operations, generating operation, storing operation, comparing operation, and allowing for notification operation are controlled by a smart phone operating system.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the incoming text messages include SMS messages.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the incoming text messages include MMS messages.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the password-protected masked notification routine of the smartphone further precludes audible indication of the incoming phone call or incoming text message.

11. A non-transitory smart phone computer app having instructions that when received from memory into a processor cause the smart phone to implement a method, the method comprising:

receiving into a user interface of the smart phone, indications of temporally authorized or unauthorized phone numbers;

receiving into the user interface of the smart phone, indications of time periods during which the temporally authorized or unauthorized phone numbers are temporally authorized or unauthorized;

generating a list of temporally authorized or unauthorized phone numbers and time periods based on said received indications of temporally authorized or unauthorized phone numbers and time periods;

storing the list of temporally authorized or unauthorized phone numbers and time periods in the memory of the smart phone;

comparing, using instructions executed by the processor of the smart phone, phone numbers and times of incoming phone calls and incoming text messages against the list of temporally authorized or unauthorized phone numbers and time periods;

if the a number of an incoming phone call or incoming text message and is temporally allowed, allowing for notification of the incoming phone call or incoming text messages according to a default notification routine of the smart phone; and

if the number of the incoming phone call or incoming text message is not temporally allowed, not allowing for notification of the incoming phone call or incoming text according to the normal notification routine and generating a notification of the incoming call or incoming text according to a password-protected masked notification routine of the smart phone,

wherein the default notification routine of the smart phone includes immediately displaying incoming phone call or incoming text message information on the display of the smart phone and adding an indication of the incoming phone call or incoming text message to a default phone log or message log of the smart phone, and

wherein the password-protected masked notification routine of the smart phone includes adding an indication of the incoming phone call or incoming text message to a password-protected phone log or message log of the smart phone and precludes immediately displaying the incoming phone call or incoming text message information on the display of the smart phone, and further precludes adding an indication of the incoming phone call or incoming text message to a default phone log or message log of the smart phone.

12. The app of claim 11, wherein the times of incoming phone calls and incoming text messages includes a calendar date.

13. The app of claim 11, wherein a temporally authorized or unauthorized phone number is temporally authorized or unauthorized for incoming phone calls and incoming text messages independently.

14. The app of claim 11, where in the method further comprises:

storing an encrypted password;

receiving an entered password; and

if the number of the incoming phone call or incoming text message is not temporally allowed, displaying the indication of the incoming phone call or incoming text message only if the encrypted password and entered password match.

15. The app of claim 14, wherein the method further comprises:

storing a second encrypted password;

receiving a second entered password; and

if the number of the incoming phone call or incoming text message is not temporally allowed, displaying the indication of the incoming phone call or incoming text message only if the second encrypted password and second entered password match.

16. The app of claim 11, wherein the app is installed on the smartphone.

17. The app of claim 11, wherein the app is integrated as part of an operating system of the smartphone.

18. The app of claim 11, wherein the incoming text messages include SMS messages.

19. The app of claim 11, wherein the incoming text messages include MMS messages.

20. The app of claim 11, wherein the password-protected masked notification routine of the smartphone further precludes audible indication of the incoming phone call or incoming text message.