Delayed and time-space bound notifications

• US 9,723,459 B2
• Filed: 05/18/2011
• Issued: 08/01/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Haik, Fadi, Yariv, Eran, Geva, Yair E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Eng, George
• Assistant Examiner(s): Gao, Jing
• Application Number:
  US13/110,001
• Publication Number:
  US 20120295645A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,267 Days
• Field of Search: 4554121, 4554141, 4554142, 455418
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1895 for short real-time information, e.g. alarms, notifications, alerts, updates
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/224 providing notification on incoming messages, e.g. pushed notifications of received messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/61 taking into account QoS or priority requirements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/00 User notification, e.g. alerting and paging, for incoming communication, change of service or the like

Abstract

Architecture that enables alerts and notifications to have priorities and time/space durations. Non-critical alerts can be displayed in a non-obtrusive manner and alert/notifications coalesced. Alerts/notifications can be assigned priorities, thereby enabling the alerts/notifications to be non-intrusive to the user. Methods include detecting when the user is using a mobile phone (or other suitable device) and then sending the alert/notification in response to the detected use based on threshold criteria relative to an accumulated sum of alerts/notifications, and an importance level (e.g., of each). Additionally, alert/notification priority can be changed (e.g. elevated, lowered) according to time (when) and space (where), thereby enabling the user to be intrusively notified based on the level, even if not previously signaled. Time and space bounds (criteria) can be assigned to alerts/notifications for merger/grouping and/or set to be auto-dismissed if no longer applicable.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented notification system, comprising:

a processor; and

computer storage memory having computer-executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the processor, configure the system to;

receive, via a user communications device, a first notification to be communicated to a user;

assign a first priority designations to the first notification;

determine that the first priority designation is less than a threshold criteria used to determine that a notification should be communicated to the user;

in response to said determining, hold the first notification without communicating the notification to the user;

receive, via the user communications device, a second notification to be communicated to the user;

assign a second priority designations to the second notification;

determine that the second priority designation is less than the threshold criteria used to determine that a notification should be communicated to the user;

combine the first priority designation with the second priority designation to form a summed notification designation;

determine that the summed notification designation satisfies the threshold criteria; and

transmit the first and second notifications based on the summed notification designation exceeding the threshold criteria.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first priority designation is based on a time criteria relative to status of the user.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the first priority designation is based on a user location.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the first priority designation is based on a time-sensitivity of the first notification.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the threshold criteria is decreased when the user terminates a phone call.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the threshold criteria is decreased when the user is on a home screen of the user communication device.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the threshold criteria changes as a status of the user changes.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the first notification comprises a badge.

9. One or more computer-storage hardware media comprising computer executable instructions embodied thereon, that when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform a method of distributing notifications to a user, the method, comprising:

receiving, via a user communications device, a first notification to be communicated to a user;

assigning a first priority designations to the first notification;

determining that the first priority designation is less than a threshold criteria used to determine that a notification should be communicated to the user;

in response to said determining, holding the first notification without communicating the notification to the user;

receiving, via the user communications device, a second notification to be communicated to the user;

assigning a second priority designations to the second notification;

determining that the second priority designation is less than the threshold criteria used to determine that a notification should be communicated to the user;

combining the first priority designation with the second priority designation to form a summed notification designation;

determining that the summed notification designation satisfies the threshold criteria; and

transmitting the first and second notifications based on the summed notification designation exceeding the threshold criteria.

10. The media of claim 9, wherein the first priority designation is based on a time criteria relative to status of the user.

11. The media of claim 9, wherein the wherein the first priority designation is based on a user location.

12. The media of claim 9, wherein the threshold criteria is decreased when the user terminates a phone call.

13. The media of claim 9, wherein the threshold criteria is decreased when the user is on a home screen of the user communication device.

14. The media of claim 9, wherein the first notification comprises a badge.

15. A method, comprising:

receiving, via a user communications device, a first notification to be communicated to a user;

assigning a first priority designations to the first notification;

determining that the first priority designation is less than a threshold criteria used to determine that a notification should be communicated to the user;

in response to said determining, holding the first notification without communicating the notification to the user;

receiving, via the user communications device, a second notification to be communicated to the user;

assigning a second priority designations to the second notification;

determining that the second priority designation is less than the threshold criteria used to determine that a notification should be communicated to the user;

combining the first priority designation with the second priority designation to form a summed notification designation;

determining that the summed notification designation satisfies the threshold criteria; and

transmitting the first and second notifications based on the summed notification designation exceeding the threshold criteria.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the first priority designation is based on a time criteria relative to status of the user.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein first priority designation is based on a user location.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the first priority designation is based on a time-sensitivity of the first notification.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein the threshold criteria is decreased when the user terminates a phone call.