Providing a reminder message depending on an environment

• US 20040119600A1
• Filed: 12/24/2002
• Published: 06/24/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/24/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Hampton, Art
• Granted Patent: US 6,819,256 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/691.1
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/24 Reminder alarms, e.g. anti-loss alarms
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 3/105 with call or message storage means

Abstract

A user device 200, and corresponding method within, is arranged for providing, dependent on an environment of the user device, a reminder message for a user of the device and includes a receiver 205 for detecting, when present, an external signal; a controller 209 for determining when the presence of the external signal has changed; and retrieving, if so, a reminder message associated with the user device; and a user interface 211, coupled to the controller, for providing the reminder message in a user perceptible form.

Claims

1. A method of providing a reminder message dependent on a user device environment, the method comprising:

detecting a change in a presence of an external signal;

retrieving a reminder message associated with the user device; and

providing the reminder message in a user perceptible form.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the detecting a change in the presence of the external signal further comprises one of not detecting the external signal followed by detecting the external signal and detecting the external signal followed by not detecting the external signal.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the not detecting the external signal followed by detecting the external signal further comprises not detecting the external signal from an access point followed by detecting the external signal from the access point.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the detecting the external signal from an access point further comprises detecting the external signal from an access point for the user device.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the retrieving a reminder message associated with the user device further includes retrieving a reminder message relevant to a location associated with one of availability and absence of the external signal.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the retrieving a reminder message relevant to a location associated with one of the availability and the absence of the external signal further comprises retrieving the reminder message from a memory within the user device.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the retrieving a reminder message relevant to a location associated with one of the availability and the absence of the external signal further comprises retrieving the reminder message from an access point for the user device, the access point further being the source of the external signal.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the providing the reminder message in a user perceptible form further comprises providing the reminder message in one of a visual form on a display of the user device and an audible form using a speaker of the user device.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the providing the reminder message in a user perceptible form further comprises providing the reminder message in a combination of an audible and a visual form.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the retrieving the reminder message further includes retrieving a reminder message that has been generated by one of a user of the user device and another party.

11. A user device, arranged for providing a reminder message dependent on the user device environment, the user device comprising:

a receiver for detecting, when present, an external signal;

a controller, coupled to the receiver, for;

determining when the presence of the external signal has changed; and

retrieving, if the presence of the external signal has changed, a reminder message associated with the user device; and

a user interface, coupled to the controller, for providing the reminder message in a user perceptible form.

12. The user device of claim 11, wherein the controller for the determining when the presence of the external signal has changed is further for determining that the receiver is, sequentially, one of:

not detecting the external signal and then detecting the external signal; and

detecting the external signal and then not detecting the external signal.

13. The user device of claim 12, wherein the controller for determining that the receiver is, sequentially, not detecting the external signal and then detecting the external signal is further for determining that the receiver is, sequentially, not detecting the external signal from an access point followed by detecting the external signal from the access point.

14. The user device of claim 13, wherein the controller for the determining that the receiver is detecting a external signal from an access point further comprises detecting the external signal from an access point that the user device is capable of accessing.

15. The user device of claim 12, wherein the controller for the retrieving the reminder message associated with the user device is further for retrieving a reminder message relevant to a location associated with one of availability and absence of the external signal.

16. The user device of claim 15, further comprising a memory and wherein the controller for the retrieving the reminder message relevant to the location associated with one of the availability and the absence of the external signal is further for retrieving the reminder message from the memory.

17. The user device of claim 15, wherein the controller for the retrieving the reminder message relevant to the location associated with one of the availability and the absence of the external signal is further for retrieving a reminder message from an access point available to the user device.

18. The user device of claim 11, further comprising a display and an audio transducer and wherein the user interface for providing the reminder message in a user perceptible form is further for providing the reminder message in one of a visual form on the display and an audible form using the audio transducer.

19. The user device of claim 11, wherein the user interface for providing the reminder message in the user perceptible form is further for providing the reminder message in a combination of an audible and a visual form.

20. The user device of claim 11, wherein the controller for the retrieving the reminder message is further for retrieving a reminder message that has been generated by one of the user and another party.

21. A user device arranged and constructed for providing a user with a reminder message upon arrival or departure from a predetermined area, the user device comprising:

a user interface comprising a keypad and display;

a controller, coupled to the user interface and further comprising a memory, for facilitating generation of a reminder message by a user and storing the reminder message together with triggering information comprising availability and absence of an external signal; and

a receiver, coupled to the controller, for detecting the availability and absence of the external signal,

wherein the controller is operable for retrieving the reminder message and providing a visual indication of the reminder message on the display when a comparison of the triggering information to a pattern of the availability and absence of the external signal is favorable.