System and method for displaying time-sensitive alerts in a mobile device

• US 8,954,514 B2
• Filed: 12/22/2009
• Issued: 02/10/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Clearwire Ip Holdings LLC (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: Sprint Communications Company LP (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Gunasekara, Don
• Primary Examiner(s): KATSIKIS, KOSTAS J
• Application Number:
  US12/644,792
• Publication Number:
  US 20110153754A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,876 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 455/404.1, 455/403
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 13/00 Speech synthesis; Text to speech systems

Abstract

In various embodiments, a system and a method for receiving alerts through a network includes providing a device which may include a user interface, a pop-up management module and a display. Further, a communications interface between the device and one or more database systems located outside the network may be provided. Using the user interface, a user is allowed to selectively choose to display, on the display, one or more message types generated by the one or more database systems. The message types may be received via the network, processed and displayed on the display by the pop-up management module as a pop-up message. The device may be a WiMAX-enabled device and the network may be a WiMAX network.

Claims

1. A method of receiving alerts through a communications network at a mobile device registered in the network, said mobile device comprising a pop-up management module, a display, a user interface and a communications interface between the mobile device and one or more database systems located outside the network, the method comprising:

selectively choosing, through the user interface, to receive one or more message types generated by the one or more database systems at the mobile device, and selectively configuring a user preference for at least one of the one or more message types, and

processing by said pop-up management module a message of the at least one of the one or more message types received at the mobile device from a network server based on the selectively-configured user preference related to said received message, and displaying the processed message on the display as a pop-up message, said processing comprising determining whether delayed display is enabled for the message type of said received message, determining whether a voice alert is associated with the message type of said received message, responsive to a determination by the pop-up management module that a voice alert is associated with the message type of said received message, converting text in the pop-up message to audio using a text-to-voice converter, and translating a native format of the message type of said received message into the pop-up message.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more message types comprise a plurality of message types selected from the group consisting of a missing child alert, a weather alert, a traffic alert, a natural disaster alert, and a governmental alert.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more message types comprise one or more governmental alerts selected from the group consisting of a crime alert, a terrorism alert, and a disaster alert.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more database systems comprise one or more governmental databases selected from the group consisting of a law enforcement database, a missing persons database, and a weather database.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more database systems comprise one or more subscription-based database systems.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the one or more subscription-based databases comprise a news database system or a financial investment database system.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile device is a WiMAX-enabled device and the network is a WiMAX network, wherein the communications interface between the WiMAX-enabled device and one or more database systems located outside the WiMAX network is implemented using TCP/IP.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the pop-up management module is implemented as a client application configured to operate in a client-server relationship with the one or more database systems.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the user preference comprises one or more of an audio alert and a pop-up duration for each of the one or more message types.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the user preference comprises a non-real time display schedule for each of the one or more message types.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the native format includes e-mail, SMS, and RSS feed.

12. A system for providing alerts to a user through a data network, the system comprising:

a mobile device registered in the network, said mobile device comprising a processor, a memory device, a transceiver configured to selectively transmit and receive data over the network, a user interface, and a display, wherein the processor is configured to control a pop-up management module; and

a communications interface between the mobile device and one or more database systems located outside the network;

wherein the user interface of the mobile device is configured to allow the user to selectively choose to receive one or more message types generated by the one or more database systems at the mobile device, and selectively configure a user preference for at least one of the one or more message types,

wherein the mobile device is configured to receive a message of the at least one of said one or more message types via the network, and wherein said pop-up management module is configured to process said received message based on the selectively-configured user preference related to said received message, and display the processed message on the display as a pop-up message, wherein to process said received message, said pop-up management module is configured to determine whether delayed display is enabled for the message type of said received message, determine whether a voice alert is associated with the message type of said received message, responsive to a determination by said pop-up management module that a voice alert is associated with the message type of said received message, using a text-to-voice converter configured to convert text in the pop-up message to audio, and translate a native format of the message type of said received message into the pop-up message.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the native format includes e-mail, SMS, and RSS feed.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the one or more message types comprise a plurality of message types selected from the group consisting of a missing child alert, a weather alert, a traffic alert, a natural disaster alert, and a governmental alert.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the one or more message types comprise one or more governmental alerts selected from the group consisting of a crime alert, a terrorism alert, and a disaster alert.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein the one or more database systems comprise one or more governmental databases selected from the group consisting of a law enforcement database, a missing persons database, and a weather database.

17. The system of claim 12, wherein the one or more database systems comprise one or more subscription-based database systems.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the one or more subscription-based databases comprise a news database system or a financial investment database system.

19. The system of claim 12, wherein the mobile device is a WiMAX-enable device and the data network is a WiMAX network, wherein the communications interface between the WiMAX-enabled device and one or more database systems located outside the WiMAX network is implemented using TCP/IP.

20. The system of claim 12, wherein the pop-up management module is implemented as a client application configured to operate in a client-server relationship with the one or more database systems.

21. The system of claim 12, wherein the user preference comprises one or more of an audio alert and a pop-up duration for each of the one or more message types.

22. The system of claim 12, wherein the user preference comprises a non-real time display schedule for each of the one or more message types.

23. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising computer readable code embodied thereon which, when executed by a processor arranged in a WiMAX-enabled device comprising a display, a pop-up management module, and a user interface, causes the processor to carry out operations comprising:

receiving a message of at least one of one or more alert message types over a communications interface between the WiMAX-enabled device and one or more database systems located outside a WiMAX network;

allowing the user to selectively configure, at the user interface of the WiMAX-enabled device, a user preference for the at least one of the one or more alert message types;

processing the received message at the pop-up management module based on the selectively-configured user preference related to the received message, said processing comprising determining whether delayed display is enabled for the message type of the received message, determining whether a voice alert is associated with the message type of the received message, responsive to a determination by the pop-up management module that a voice alert is associated with the message type of the received message, converting text in the pop-up message to audio via a text-to-voice conversion process, and translating a native format of the message type of the received message into a pop-up message; and

displaying said message processed by said pop-up management module on the display as the pop-up message.

24. The computer-readable medium of claim 23, wherein the user preference comprises a non-real time display schedule for each of the one or more message types.

25. The computer-readable medium of claim 23, wherein the native format includes e-mail, SMS, and RSS feed.

26. The computer-readable medium of claim 23, wherein the communications interface between the WiMAX-enabled device and one or more database systems located outside the WiMAX network is implemented using TCP/IP.

27. The computer-readable medium of claim 23, wherein the pop-up management module is implemented as a client application configured to operate in a client-server relationship with the one or more database systems.

28. The computer-readable medium of claim 23, wherein the user preference comprises one or more of an audio alert and a pop-up duration for each of the one or more message types.