Messaging application interacting with one or more extension applications

• US 9,990,128 B2
• Filed: 09/23/2016
• Issued: 06/05/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/12/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Peterson, Adele C., Garcia, Roberto, Carter, David Alex, Sarma, Bhaskar, Lindeman, Kevin, Kowalczykowski, Keith, Chaudhri, Imran, Karunamuni, Chanaka
• Primary Examiner(s): TRAN, CONGVAN
• Application Number:
  US15/275,103
• Publication Number:
  US 20170357442A1
• Time in Patent Office: 620 Days
• Field of Search: 4554121, 455466, 455145, 4551584, 455566
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04803 Split screen, i.e. subdividing the display area or the window area into separate subareas
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0486 Drag-and-drop
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/54 Interprogram communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/046 Interoperability with other network applications or services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/063 Content adaptation, e.g. replacement of unsuitable content
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/10 Multimedia information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/18 Commands or executable codes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/216 Handling conversation history, e.g. grouping of messages in sessions or threads
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]

Abstract

A messaging system in one embodiment includes a messaging app and one or more extension apps configured to create content that is displayed in a view hosted by the messaging app. The messaging app can launch the one or more extension apps, and content can be communicated between each extension app and the messaging app through an interprocess communication.

Claims

1. A method for operating in conjunction with a messaging app, the method comprising:

determining a type of an extension app in response to receiving, by the messaging app, a message containing content created by the extension app;

launching the extension app automatically in response to the receipt of the message if the extension app is a first type of extension app;

deferring launching of the extension app, if the extension app is a second type of extension app, until a selection is received of a message bubble displayed in a message transcript that is displayed by the messaging app.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the selection is received from a user who selects the message bubble in the transcript.

3. The method as in claim 1 wherein the extension app specifies whether it operates as the first type or the second type of extension.

4. The method as in claim 1 wherein the messaging app is a text messaging app that transmits text messages to another messaging app through one or more servers and wherein the first type of extension app launches upon the receipt but remains in the background until a user causes the extension app to be displayed in place of an on-screen keyboard.

5. The method as in claim 4 wherein the extension app, while executing in the background, updates its content displayed in one or more message bubbles in the message transcript.

6. The method as in claim 1 wherein content from the extension app of the first type appears within the message bubble even when the extension app is not launched, and wherein content from the extension app of the first type is updated, after the extension app is launched, through an interprocess communication between the extension app and the messaging app, and wherein the messaging app operates in a first sandboxed process and the extension app operates in a second sandboxed process that is different than the first sandboxed process, and wherein the extension app receives content, through the messaging app on a first device, that was created by another extension app that sent the content through another messaging app on a second device, and wherein the messaging app determines whether the extension app is the first type or the second type.

7. A non-transitory machine readable medium storing instructions which when executed by a data processing system cause the data processing system to perform a method for operating in conjunction with a messaging app, the method comprising:

determining a type of an extension app in response to receiving, by the messaging app, a message containing content created by the extension app;

launching the extension app automatically in response to the receipt of the message if the extension app is a first type of extension app;

deferring launching of the extension app, if the extension app is a second type of extension app, until a selection is received of a message bubble displayed in a message transcript that is displayed by the messaging app.

8. The medium of claim 7 wherein the selection is received from a user who selects the message bubble in the transcript.

9. The medium as in claim 7 wherein the extension app specifies whether it operates as the first type or the second type of extension.

10. The medium as in claim 7 wherein the messaging app is a text messaging app that transmits text messages to another messaging app through one or more servers and wherein the first type of extension app launches upon the receipt but remains in the background until a user causes the extension app to be displayed in place of an on-screen keyboard.

11. The medium as in claim 10 wherein the extension app, while executing in the background, updates its content displayed in one or more message bubbles in the message transcript.

12. The medium as in claim 7 wherein content from the extension app of the first type appears within the message bubble even when the extension app is not launched, and wherein content from the extension app of the first type is updated, after the extension app is launched, through an interprocess communication between the extension app and the messaging app, and wherein the messaging app operates in a first sandboxed process and the extension app operates in a second sandboxed process that is different than the first sandboxed process, and wherein the extension app receives content, through the messaging app on a first device, that was created by another extension app that sent the content through another messaging app on a second device, and wherein the messaging app determines whether the extension app is the first type or the second type.

13. A non-transitory machine readable medium storing instructions which when executed by a data processing system cause the data processing system to perform a method, the method comprising:

displaying, in a message transcript, a first message bubble containing or associated with first content created by a first extension app, the first message bubble having a session identifier maintained for a first messaging app;

receiving, at the first messaging app on a first device, second content for a session that is occurring between the first extension app and a second extension app on a second device, the session identified by the session identifier;

converting the first content into a breadcrumb and displaying a second message bubble containing or associated with the second content, wherein the first messaging app associates the session identifier with both the breadcrumb and the second message bubble.

14. The medium of claim 13 wherein the first extension app provides third content to be displayed as at least a portion of the breadcrumb.

15. The medium of claim 13 wherein the second content was created by the second extension app on the second device and was transmitted to the first device through a second messaging app on the second device.

16. The medium of claim 13 wherein the first messaging app converts the first content into the breadcrumb.

17. The medium of claim 16 wherein the first content is created before the second content is received and wherein the second content is an update or modification of the first content.

18. The medium of claim 17 wherein the message transcript includes a plurality of message bubbles that are identified with the session identifier and wherein at least a subset of the

plurality of message bubbles are converted into the breadcrumb.