Creating a communication group

• US 9,578,468 B2
• Filed: 01/21/2014
• Issued: 02/21/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Apfel, Darren Alexander, Friedman, Jonathan David, Rowe, Keith Lindsey, Ho, Rosanna H., Vargas, Sandra I., Bernard, Peter Andrew, Von Bencke, Matthew Justin
• Primary Examiner(s): WYCHE, MYRON
• Application Number:
  US14/159,618
• Publication Number:
  US 20140135052A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,127 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0486 Drag-and-drop
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/182 Level alarms, e.g. alarms responsive to variables exceeding a threshold
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2201/42 Graphical user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/2044 Group features, e.g. closed user group
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/56 Arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities video conference systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/08 User group management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals

Abstract

This document describes tools capable of enabling users of mobile communication devices to create communication groups quickly and easily. With such a communication group a user may call, text, or instant message all persons in the group at once by selecting the communication group rather than each person in the group. In one embodiment, the tools enable a user to build a communication group by dragging and dropping indicators for persons he or she knows from one area of a screen into another area. In another embodiment, the tools automatically collect persons from those that the user knows based on one or more criteria. The user may then easily create a communication group of those collected persons, such as by tapping on an area of a mobile device'"'"'s display.

Claims

1. A mobile communication and computing device comprising:

a display;

a processing system to implement a grouping module at least partially in hardware with one or more computer processors, the grouping module configured to cause the mobile communication and computing device to perform operations including;

receiving selection of a first entity and a second entity to include in a collection, the first entity and the second entity displayed at least in part on a first area of the display;

enabling selection at a second area of the display of the mobile communication and computing device either after an act of indicating that the second entity is successfully added to the collection or at some later time after one or more additional entities are successfully added to the collection, to create a communication group having the entities of the collection;

receiving selection to create the communication group;

creating the communication group at the mobile communication and computing device, the communication group enabling communication from the mobile communication and computing device to all of the entities of the communication group at once; and

displaying an alert responsive to determining that one or more entities of the communication group have reached a distance in proximity to the mobile communication and computing device that created the communication group.

2. The mobile communication and computing device of claim 1, the operations further comprising enabling selection using voice activation functionality of the mobile communication and computing device to create the communication group.

3. The mobile communication and computing device of claim 1, the operations further comprising:

presenting, in the display of the mobile communication and computing device, a graphic representation of the communication group;

enabling selection of the graphic representation of the communication group; and

responsive to receiving selection of the graphic representation of the group, displaying filter options to enable communication with a subset of the entities of the communication group at once.

4. The mobile communication and computing device of claim 3, the operations further comprising determining the subset of entities based on whether the entities have responded positively to an electronic invitation.

5. The mobile communication and computing device of claim 3, the operations further comprising determining the subset of entities of the communication group to communicate with at the same time based on one or more indicated user-selected interests of the entities of the communication group.

6. The mobile communication and computing device of claim 3, the operations further comprising determining the subset of entities based on a location of the entities respective to the mobile communication and computing device.

7. The mobile communication and computing device of claim 3, the operations further comprising indicating that the communication group has been successfully filtered by altering the appearance of the graphic representation of the communication group.

8. The mobile communication and computing device of claim 7, the operations further comprising maintaining the altered appearance of the graphic representation until receiving a change.

9. The mobile communication and computing device of claim 7, the operations further comprising maintaining the altered appearance of the graphic representation until a date associated with the filter has passed.

10. The mobile communication and computing device of claim 3, the operations further comprising presenting an option to create a new communication group and a new graphic representation for a filtered communication group.

11. A method implemented at least in part by a mobile communication and computing device comprising:

populating two or more entities from a superset of entities associated with a user into a collection of entities, the populating performed automatically based on one or more criteria;

indicating, on a display of the mobile communication and computing device, the populating of the two or more entities into the collection of entities;

enabling selection using touch functionality of the mobile communication and computing device to create a communication group having the entities of the collection;

receiving selection to create the communication group;

creating the communication group at the mobile communication and computing device, the communication group enabling text and voice communication from the mobile communication and computing device to the two or more entities of the communication group, the text communication and the voice communication enabled from the mobile communication and computing device to the two or more entities of the communication group at once; and

displaying an alert when one or more entities of the communication group have reached a location respective to the mobile communication and computing device that created the communication group.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the displaying the alert comprises altering an appearance of an icon associated with the communication group.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising determining the location based on positioning information describing a location of the mobile communication and computing device.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising displaying global positioning information associated with the first entity on the first area of the display.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising displaying global positioning information associated with the communication group on the second area of the display.

16. The method of claim 11, further comprising receiving a user selection of an electronic correspondence to provide the one or more criteria utilizing contacts present on a distribution list of the electronic correspondence.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein a date to automatically remove the communication group from a desktop on the display of the mobile communication and computing device is determined by examining the electronic correspondence.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising determining the location based on information provided in the electronic correspondence.

19. A method implemented at least in part by a mobile communication and computing device comprising:

receiving selection of a first entity and a second entity to include in a collection, the first entity and the second entity displayed at least in part on a first area of a display of the mobile communication and computing device;

enabling selection using touch functionality of the mobile communication and computing device at a second area of the display either after an act of indicating that the second entity is successfully added to the collection or at some later time after one or more additional entities are successfully added to the collection, to create a communication group having the entities of the collection;

receiving selection to create the communication group;

creating the communication group at the mobile communication and computing device, the communication group enabling communication from the mobile communication and computing device to all of the entities of the communication group at once;

presenting in the display a graphic representation of the communication group; and

displaying an alert responsive to determining that one or more entities of the communication group have reached a distance in proximity to the mobile communication and computing device that created the communication group.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the communication group includes an associated event date that is determined by input received at the mobile communication and computing device.