Notification engine

• US 9,497,042 B2
• Filed: 06/28/2012
• Issued: 11/15/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Orange S.A.
• Original Assignee: Orange S.A.
• Inventors: Lam, Long, Tucker, Richard, Wang, Gang
• Primary Examiner(s): Mejia, Anthony
• Application Number:
  US13/536,230
• Publication Number:
  US 20130031189A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,601 Days
• Field of Search: 709/200, 709/206
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/107 Computer-aided management of electronic mailing [e-mailing]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/224 providing notification on incoming messages, e.g. pushed notifications of received messages

Abstract

A method and apparatus are provided. The method is carried out by a notification engine, for delivering to a user equipment a group of incoming notifications from at least one application running on the user equipment. The application running on the user equipment is registered on the notification engine. The method includes: defining at least one criterion for delivering notifications, buffering the incoming notifications, and delivering according to the criterion a group of previously buffered notifications.

Claims

1. A method carried out by a notification engine, for delivering to a user equipment incoming notifications from at least one application running on said user equipment, said application running on the user equipment being registered on said notification engine, wherein the method comprises the acts of:

buffering received notifications within a group of notifications in a memory of the notification engine,

defining at least one criterion for delivering the group of notifications, the at least one criterion comprising a maximum number N of notifications to be delivered at the same time, and

delivering, according to said at least one criterion, the group of notifications to the user equipment, wherein the notifications of the group are delivered at the same time to the user equipment in the form of an ordered list, if the number of notifications of the group is less than or equal to the maximum number N;

else, if the number of notifications of the group is more than the maximum number N, delivering a number of buffered notifications of the group equal to the maximum number, at the same time to the user equipment in the form of an ordered list, and delivering the other notifications of the group at a later time.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one criterion comprises a time period to deliver the group of notifications to the user equipment, said act of delivering the group of notifications being performed upon expiration of said time period.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein when the number of notifications within the group of notifications reaches said maximum number, the group of notifications is delivered to the user equipment (1).

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one criterion further comprises a time period to deliver the group of notifications to the user equipment, said method further comprising:

upon reception of at least one notification from the registered application and intended to the user equipment, buffering said notification;

if the predefined time period has elapsed, then considering the group of notifications to deliver to the user equipment by the end of said time period, said group of notifications comprising the buffered notifications if the number of buffered notifications is less than or equal to said maximum number, or else a number of buffered notifications equal to said maximum number and considering complementary notifications by the end of a next time period within a next group of notifications; and

else, repeating the previous acts upon reception of a new notification.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the at least one criterion further comprises a periodicity and wherein the next time period is calculated by the notification engine based on said periodicity and said time period.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the group of notifications is delivered in the form of a list, wherein the at least one criterion comprises at least one identifier of a preferred application running on said user equipment, and wherein notifications from said preferred application are delivered on the top of said list.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the group of notifications is delivered in the form of a list, wherein at least one notification comprises an identifier of a sender, wherein the at least one criterion comprises at least one preferred contact and wherein if for a given notification, the identifier of the sender is the preferred contact, then said given notification is delivered on the top of said list.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein after delivering the group of notifications to the user equipment, the buffered notifications that have been delivered are deleted from said notification engine and the previous acts are repeated.

9. The method according claim 1, wherein at least one notification comprises an identifier of a sender, wherein the at least one criterion comprises at least one preferred contact or one preferred application, wherein if for a given notification, the identifier of the sender is the preferred contact, or if the given notification is from a preferred application, then the act of buffering said given notification is skipped and the given notification is delivered.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one criterion for delivering the group of notifications comprises a criterion associated to the group of notifications.

10. A non-transitory storage medium comprising a computer program product recorded thereon and executable by a computer in the form of a software agent including at least one software module setup to implement a method carried out by a notification engine, for delivering to a user equipment incoming notifications from at least one application running on said user equipment, said application running on the user equipment being registered on said notification engine, wherein the method comprises:

buffering received notifications within a group of notifications,

defining at least one criterion for delivering the group of notifications, the at least one criterion comprising a maximum number N of notifications to be delivered at the same time, and

delivering according to said at least one criterion the group of notifications to the user equipment, wherein the notifications of the group are delivered at the same time in the form of an ordered list, if the number of notifications of the group is less than or equal to the maximum number N;

else, if the number of notifications of the group is more than the maximum number N, delivering a number of buffered notifications of the group equal to the maximum number, at the same time to the user equipment in the form of an ordered list, and delivering the other notifications of the group at a later time.

11. A notification engine for delivering to a user equipment notifications received from at least one application running on said user equipment, the notification engine comprising:

a buffer, which buffers the received notifications within a group of notifications;

a computer readable medium comprising software stored thereon; and

a computing device configured by the software for performing acts of;

registering said application running on said user equipment,

defining at least one criterion for delivering the group of notifications, wherein the at least one criterion comprises a criterion to filter the group of notifications, the at least one criterion comprising a maximum number N of notifications to be delivered at the same time, and

delivering according to said at least one criterion the group of notifications, wherein the notifications of the group are delivered at the same time in the form of an ordered list, if the number of notifications of the group is less than or equal to the maximum number N;

else, if the number of notifications of the group is more than the maximum number N, delivering a number of buffered notifications of the group equal to the maximum number, at the same time to the user equipment in the form of an ordered list, and delivering the other notifications of the group at a later time.

12. The notification engine according to claim 11, wherein said notification engine is comprised in said user equipment.

13. A user equipment for receiving notifications from at least one application running on said user equipment, said user equipment comprising a notification engine comprising:

a buffer, which buffers the received notifications within a group of notifications;

a computer readable medium comprising software stored thereon; and

a computing device configured by the software for performing acts of;

registering said application running on said user equipment;

defining at least one criterion for delivering the group of notifications, wherein the at least one criterion comprises a criterion to filter the group of notifications, the at least one criterion comprising a maximum number N of notifications to be delivered at the same time; and

delivering according to said at least one criterion the group of notifications, wherein the notifications of the group are delivered at the same time, in the form of an ordered list, if the number of notifications of the group is less than or equal to the maximum number N;

else, if the number of notifications of the group is more than the maximum number N, delivering a number of buffered notifications of the group equal to the maximum number, at the same time to the user equipment in the form of an ordered list, and delivering the other notifications of the group at a later time.