SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PRIORITIZING AND DISPLAYING MESSAGES

• US 20080270560A1
• Filed: 04/24/2007
• Published: 10/30/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/24/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: TYSOWSKI, Piotr Konrad, HARDY, Michael Thomas, KHAN, Atif
• Granted Patent: US 8,621,024 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/207
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/00 User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/214 using selective forwarding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/42 Mailbox-related aspects, e.g. synchronisation of mailboxes

Abstract

A system for prioritizing and displaying received messages, including e-mail, SMS, IM, multimedia, and voicemail, at a communication device includes means for dynamically associating a priority value with a received message upon detection of an evaluation event, and means for dynamically updating a listing of received messages associated with at least a priority value equal to or greater than a predetermined priority value in a designated priority viewport. The viewport is constantly viewable in a message listing screen and comprises a listing of prioritized messages separate and apart from non-prioritized messages. Evaluation events may include user operation such as reading, deleting, replying, moving, or forwarding the message and similar operations, or a determination that the message has reached a predetermined age.

Claims

1. A method for presenting received messages at a communication device, comprising the steps of:

dynamically associating a priority value with a received message at the communication device by evaluating the priority value of the message upon the detection of an evaluation event and storing the priority value thus evaluated in association with the message; and

upon the execution of the step of dynamically associating a priority value, dynamically updating a listing of received messages displayed in a designated viewport, wherein the listing of received messages consists of received messages associated with a priority value equal to or greater than a predetermined priority value.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of dynamically updating the listing comprises querying a message store to identify messages associated with a priority value equal to or greater than the predetermined priority value, and displaying in the designated viewport a listing of the messages thus identified.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the evaluation event comprises user operation on the message.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the user operation comprises any one of the following actions:

opening the message for reading;

editing the priority level associated with the received message;

deleting the message;

moving the message to a folder;

replying to the message;

forwarding the message; and

archiving the message.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein evaluating the priority value comprises the steps of:

determining an increment value associated with the user operation on the message; and

incrementing the stored priority value associated with the message by the increment value, such that the stored priority value thus incremented is the priority value stored in association with the message.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the evaluation event comprises determining that the message is unread and has reached or exceeded a predetermined age, and wherein evaluating the priority value comprises the step of determining an increment value associated with the message, and incrementing the stored priority value associated with the message by the increment value, such that the stored priority value thus incremented is the priority value stored in association with the message.

7. The method of claim 5, further comprising the initial step of assigning a priority value commensurate with an importance level indicated in the message as received by the communication device.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the increment value is a negative value when the user operation is replying to the message or forwarding the message.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the designated viewport comprises a portion of the display area in a display on the communication device, wherein a further portion of the display area displays a listing of messages that are not associated with a priority value equal to or greater than the predetermined priority value.

10. A computer-readable medium comprising code executable by a communication device for causing said communication device to carry out the method of claim 5.

11. A communication device for receiving and displaying messages, comprising:

a message store for storing messages and associated priority values;

a processor configured to detect an evaluation event, and to dynamically evaluate a priority value for messages received at the communication device upon detection of an evaluation event and to store the priority value in association with its associated received message in the message store, and to dynamically cause the display in a designated viewport of a listing of received messages associated with a priority value equal to or greater than a predetermined priority value by refreshing the listing displayed in the designated viewport upon storage of the priority value in association with its associated received message.

12. The communication device of claim 11, wherein the designated viewport comprises a display area of fixed dimension.

13. The communication device of claim 11, wherein the evaluation event comprises user operation on the message.

14. The communication device of claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to refresh the listing by querying the message store to identify messages associated with a priority value equal to or greater than a predetermined priority value, and to cause the display in the designated viewport of a listing of the messages thus identified.

15. The communication device of claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to determine an increment value associated with a user operation, and to increment the priority value by the increment value and stored the priority value thus incremented.

16. The communication device of claim 15, wherein the processor is further configured to determine a further increment value associated with the message when the message is determined to be unread and to have reached or exceeded a predetermined age, and to increment the stored priority value associated with the message by the further increment value.

17. The communication device of claim 11, wherein the communication device is a wireless mobile communication device.