Inter-threading Indications of Different Types of Communication

• US 20100087173A1
• Filed: 10/02/2008
• Published: 04/08/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Pan, David T., Lin, Hsuan-Yu Jerry, Sabotta, Kenneth Q.
• Application Number:
  US12/244,545
• Publication Number:
  US 20100087173A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/412.200
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/216 Handling conversation history, e.g. grouping of messages in sessions or threads
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/7243 with interactive means for internal management of messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72436 for text messaging, e.g. short messaging services [SMS] or e-mails
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/60 logging of communication history, e.g. outgoing or incoming calls, missed calls, messages or URLs logging of telephone numbers H04M1/56, H04M1/57

Abstract

Different phones are identified as being part of different groups, and indications of communications with the different phones are displayed on a particular phone by group. The indications of communications of different types are displayed inter-threaded chronologically. These communications with the different phones can include communications received from the different phones and communications sent to the different phones.

Claims

1. A method implemented in a phone, the method comprising:

receiving a first communication of a first type, the first communication having originated with one or more other phones and being associated with a first group of users;

receiving a second communication of a second type, the second communication having originated with the one or more other phones, the second communication being associated with the first group of users but the second type being different than the first type; and

concurrently displaying, on a screen of the phone, both an indication of the first communication and an indication of the second communication, inter-threading the indications chronologically by group.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a third communication of a third type, the third communication having originated with the one or more other phones and being associated with the first group of users, the third type being different than the first type and the second type; and

wherein the displaying comprises displaying the indication of the first communication, the indication of the second communication, and an indication of a third communication, inter-threading the three communications chronologically.

3. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

allowing a user of the phone to scroll through multiple additional indications of communications having originated with the one or more other phones.

4. A method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

displaying, with the indication of the first communication and the indication of the second communication, an indication of a third communication sent from the phone to the one or more other phones, inter-threading the first communication, the second communication, and the third communication chronologically.

5. A method as recited in claim 1, the first communication being a transcribed voicemail message, the method further comprising:

receiving, from a user of the phone, a message; and

sending, to the one or more other phones, the message in response to the transcribed voicemail message.

6. A method as recited in claim 1, the first type comprising a text message or other media message, and the second type comprising a phone call or a transcribed voicemail message.

7. A method as recited in claim 1, the indication of the first communication comprising the first communication, and the indication of the second communication comprising a text indicator that the second communication was received.

8. One or more computer storage media having stored thereon multiple instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a phone, cause the one or more processors to:

identify different phones as being part of different groups; and

display indications of communications with the different phones by group, inter-threading indications of communications of different types chronologically, the communications with the different phones including communications received from the different phones and communications sent to the different phones.

9. One or more computer storage media as recited in claim 8, wherein to identify the different phones as being part of different groups is to identify the different phones as being part of different groups based at least in part on phone numbers of the different phones.

10. One or more computer storage media as recited in claim 9, wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to generate an identifier for each of the different groups, the identifier for each group being a hash value based on the phone numbers of phones in the group.

11. One or more computer storage media as recited in claim 8, the communications of different types comprising voice calls received by the phone, messages received by the phone, and messages sent by the phone.

12. One or more computer storage media as recited in claim 8, the instructions further causing the one or more processors to:

receive a transcribed voicemail message;

display the transcribed voicemail message as part of the indications of communications;

receive, from a user of the phone, a message; and

send, to one of the different phones that originated the transcribed voicemail message, the message in response to the transcribed voicemail message.

13. One or more computer storage media as recited in claim 8, wherein to display the indications of communications is to display indications of communications associated with a single group concurrently, and display indications of communications associated with different groups at different times.

14. One or more computer storage media as recited in claim 8, each of one or more of the indications of communications including content of the communication.

15. A phone comprising:

a screen; and

an inter-threading communication display module to display indications of communications with different phones, inter-threading indications of communications of different types chronologically by groups of which the different phones are a part, the communications with the phones including communications received from the different phones and communications sent to the different phones.

16. A phone as recited in claim 15, the inter-threading communication display module being further to identify the different phones as being part of different groups based at least in part on phone numbers of the different phones.

17. A phone as recited in claim 15, the communications of different types comprising voice calls received by the phone, messages received by the phone, and messages sent by the phone.

18. A phone as recited in claim 15, the inter-threading communication display module being further to:

display a transcribed voicemail message as part of the indications of communications;

receive, from a user of the phone, a message; and

send, to one of the different phones that originated the transcribed voicemail message, the message in response to the transcribed voicemail message.

19. A phone as recited in claim 15, wherein to display the indications of communications is to display indications of communications associated with a single group concurrently, and display indications of communications associated with different groups at different times.

20. A phone as recited in claim 15, each of one or more of the indications of communications including content of the communication.