UNLOCKING EMOTICONS USING FEATURE CODES

• US 20100293473A1
• Filed: 05/14/2010
• Published: 11/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ganz
• Original Assignee: Ganz
• Inventors: Borst, Karl Joseph, Larsen, John Alexander
• Granted Patent: US 8,788,943 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/741
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1827 Network arrangements for conference optimisation or adaptation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]

Abstract

Provided is a method of making a graphic available to be transmitted over a communication network. Access is granted to a graphic that a sender of a first communication can select for inclusion in the first communication to be transmitted over the communication network. Selection by the sender of a restricted graphic for inclusion in the first communication is prevented. Using a computer operatively connected to the communication network, the content of the first communication entered by the sender is received, and includes the graphic available for selection by the sender. The first communication including the graphic is transmitted over the communication network. A code associated with a product is received, and the product is registered based at least in part on the code. In response to successful registration of the product, the sender is granted access to the restricted graphic, allowing the sender to select the restricted graphic for inclusion in a second communication.

Claims

1. A method of making a graphic available to be transmitted over a communication network, the method comprising:

in a computer operatively connected to the communication network, granting access to a first graphic that a sender of a first chat message can select for inclusion in the first chat message to be transmitted over the communication network to a recipient who is to receive the first chat message during a chat session;

said computer preventing selection by the sender of a restricted graphic for inclusion in the first chat message;

receiving, using the computer over the communication network, content of the first chat message entered by the sender, the content comprising the first graphic available for selection by the sender;

transmitting the first chat message comprising the first graphic from the computer over the communication network;

receiving a code associated with a manufactured good into the computer;

said computer registering the manufactured good based at least in part on the code;

in response to said registering, said computer granting access to the restricted graphic, allowing selecting the restricted graphic for inclusion in a second chat message; and

subsequent to allowing selection of the restricted graphic, receiving, using the computer over the communication network, content of the second chat message entered by the sender, the content of the second chat message comprising the restricted graphic.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the selecting of the restricted graphic is prevented during a time when the first graphic is available for selection by the sender prior to the registering of the manufactured good.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the code associated with the manufactured good is entered by the sender in a website displayed by a user computer operatively connected to the computer and received by the computer over the communication network.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first graphic comprises a first emoticon and the restricted graphic comprises a second emoticon that is different than the first emoticon.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein both the first and second chat messages are messages to be transmitted in real time during a synchronous chat session, and the content for the first and second chat messages is entered via a chat interface presented to the sender on a website by a user computer operatively connected to communicate with the computer over the communication network.

6. The method according to claim 5 further comprising:

associating the sender with a user account; and

in response to the registering of the manufactured good, updating the user account to reflect the registration of the manufactured good and grant the sender continued access to the restricted graphic, allowing the sender to select the restricted graphic for inclusion in another chat message to be transmitted in real time during a subsequent synchronous chat session.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the restricted graphic comprises an animated feature that is active during a presentation of the restricted graphic to the recipient of the second chat message on a website presented to the recipient by a user computer operatively connected to the computer over the communication network.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein said granting access to the first graphic comprises presenting a chat interface to the sender during participation in an activity on a website, the chat interface comprising a text entry field and a menu of available graphics from which the sender can select the first graphic.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the activity on the website involves a virtual character and the restricted graphic comprises an appearance that resembles the virtual character.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the virtual character is controllable by the sender on the website and is a virtual replica of another manufactured good registered by the sender.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the restricted graphic is included in a set comprising a plurality of additional restricted graphics that are available for selection by the sender in response to the registering of the manufactured good, each of the plurality of additional restricted graphics being different than the first graphic available to be selected by the sender for inclusion in the first chat message.

12. The method according to claim 1 further comprising granting the sender access to a seasonal graphic associated with a holiday during a corresponding holiday season, allowing the sender to select the seasonal graphic for inclusion in a seasonal chat message, wherein access to the seasonal graphic is prevented outside of the corresponding holiday season.

13. A method of making a graphic available to be transmitted over a communication network, the method comprising:

using a computer for presenting a virtual character to a sender of a first chat message to be transmitted in real time during a synchronous chat session, wherein the computer accepts control signals to control the virtual character from the sender during participation of the sender in an activity on a website that operates using said computer;

associating the sender with a user account on the website;

granting access to a first graphic on the website, said granting access allowing the sender to select said first graphic for inclusion in the first chat message to be transmitted over the communication network, wherein the first graphic comprises an appearance representative of an emotion;

preventing selection by the sender of a restricted graphic for inclusion in the first chat message, wherein the restricted graphic comprises an appearance representative of another emotion that is different than the emotion represented by the first graphic;

presenting a chat interface on the website for entry of text to be included in the first chat message;

receiving, using the computer, the first chat message entered by the sender comprising the first graphic available for selection by the sender and the text entered by the sender via the chat interface on the website;

transmitting the first chat message over the communication network to display the first graphic and the text together on the website to an intended recipient of the first chat message;

receiving, over the communication network, a code associated with a manufactured good entered by the sender on the website;

registering the manufactured good on the website based at least in part on the code;

in response to said registering on the website, granting the sender access to the restricted graphic, and after said registering, allowing the sender to select the restricted graphic for inclusion in a second chat message to be transmitted over the communication network;

in response to said registering, updating the user account to reflect the registering of the manufactured good and to grant the sender continued access to the restricted graphic, and allowing the sender to select the restricted graphic for inclusion in another chat message to be transmitted in real time during a subsequent synchronous chat session during which subsequent synchronous chat session the user does not register said manufactured good;

subsequent to granting access to the restricted graphic, allowing the second chat message entered by the sender including the restricted graphic and another text entry entered by the sender on the website to be transmitted to an intended recipient of the second chat message.

14. A method as in claim 13, wherein said granting access to the first graphic comprises granting access to one of a plurality of different graphics on the website for inclusion in the first chat message.

15. A method as in claim 13, wherein said allowing the user to select the restricted graphic comprises granting the user access to select any of a number of different restricted graphics on the website for inclusion in the second chat message and the another chat message.

16. A method as in claim 15, further comprising periodically changing the set of restricted graphics.

17. A method as in claim 16, wherein said changing comprises changing the restricted graphics to include a seasonal restricted graphic that comprises one look in a first season and has another look in a second season.

18. A method of transmitting a graphic over a communication network, the method comprising:

using a computer operatively connected to the communication network, displaying a first graphic in a chat interface that a sender of a first chat message can select for inclusion in the first chat message prepared by the sender using the computer to be transmitted over the communication network to a recipient who is to receive the first chat message using another computer during a chat session, wherein the chat interface excludes from selection by the sender to be included in the first chat message a restricted graphic for inclusion in the first chat message;

using the computer, transmitting content of the first chat message entered by the sender into the chat interface over the communication network, the content comprising the first graphic;

in response to the sender registering a manufactured good based on a code associated with the manufactured good, displaying the chat interface comprising the restricted graphic to the sender with the computer and allowing selection by the sender of the restricted graphic for inclusion in a second chat message prepared with the computer to be transmitted over the communication network; and

using the computer, transmitting the second chat message comprising the restricted graphic over the communication network to be delivered to a recipient of the second chat message.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the registering of the manufactured good based on the code comprises:

using the computer, presenting the sender with a code entry interface that allows the sender to enter the code associated with the manufactured good;

transmitting the code over the communication network to a registration server; and

in response to said transmitting the code, receiving content over the communication network allowing the sender to select the restricted graphic for inclusion in the second chat message.

20. The method according to claim 18, wherein the chat interface is displayed by the computer on a website on which the sender is participating in an activity other than chatting.

21. The method according to claim 18, wherein the computer omits the restricted graphic from the chat interface displayed to the sender when the computer displays the first graphic in the chat interface for selection by the sender prior to the registering of the manufactured good.

22. The method according to claim 18, wherein the code associated with the manufactured good is entered by the sender in a website displayed by the computer and is transmitted by the computer over the communication network to a registration system for registration of the manufactured good.

23. The method according to claim 18, wherein the first graphic comprises a first emoticon and the restricted graphic comprises a second emoticon that is different than the first emoticon.

24. The method according to claim 23, wherein both the first and second chat messages are messages to be transmitted in real time during a synchronous chat session involving the sender and the recipient, who is remotely located from the sender, and the content for the first and second chat messages is entered via the chat interface presented to the sender on a website by the computer.

25. The method according to claim 24 further comprising:

using the computer, presenting the sender with a login interface the sender can use to log into a user account and gain access to the chat interface allowing the sender to select the first graphic, but not the restricted graphic, to be included in the first chat message; and

subsequent to the registering of the manufactured good, presenting the restricted graphic in the chat interface displayed by the computer to allow the sender to select the restricted graphic for inclusion in the second chat message.

26. The method according to claim 18, wherein the restricted graphic comprises an animated feature that is active during a presentation of the restricted graphic to the recipient of the second chat message on a website presented to the recipient by a user computer operatively connected to the computer over the communication network.

27. The method according to claim 18, wherein the chat interface is presented to the sender during participation in an activity on a website, the chat interface comprising a text entry field and a menu comprising a plurality of available graphics from which the sender can select the first graphic.

28. The method according to claim 27, wherein the activity on the website involves a virtual character and the restricted graphic comprises an appearance that resembles the virtual character.

29. The method according to claim 28, wherein the computer comprises an input peripheral that is to be manipulated by the sender to input control signals for controlling the virtual character on the website, wherein the virtual character is a virtual replica of another manufactured good previously registered by the sender.

30. The method according to claim 18, wherein the restricted graphic is included in a set comprising a plurality of additional restricted graphics that are available for selection by the sender in response to the registering of the manufactured good, each of the plurality of additional restricted graphics being different than the first graphic available to be selected by the sender for inclusion in the first chat message.

31. The method according to claim 30, wherein the plurality of additional restricted graphics included in the set displayed by the computer is changed periodically.

32. The method according to claim 31, wherein the set comprises a seasonal restricted graphic comprising one look during a first season and another look during a second season.

33. The method according to claim 18 further comprising using the computer to display a seasonal graphic associated with a holiday to the sender during a corresponding holiday season, allowing the sender to select the seasonal graphic for inclusion in a seasonal chat message, wherein the computer does not present the seasonal graphic to the sender for selection in the seasonal chat message outside of the corresponding holiday season.

34. A computer comprising a non-transitory, computer-accessible memory and a processor, the computer being programmed with computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the computer to perform a method comprising:

displaying a first graphic in a chat interface that a sender of a first chat message can select for inclusion in the first chat message prepared by the sender using the computer to be transmitted over a communication network to a recipient who is to receive the first chat message using another computer during a chat session, wherein

the chat interface displayed by the computer excludes from selection by the sender to be included in the first chat message a restricted graphic for inclusion in the first chat message;

transmitting content of the first chat message entered by the sender into the chat interface over the communication network, the content comprising the first graphic;

in response to the sender registering a manufactured good based on a code associated with the manufactured good, displaying the chat interface comprising the restricted graphic to the sender and allowing selection by the sender of the restricted graphic for inclusion in a second chat message prepared using the computer to be transmitted over the communication network; and

transmitting the second chat message comprising the restricted graphic over the communication network to be delivered to a recipient of the second chat message.

35. The computer according to claim 34, wherein the method performed by the computer further comprises:

presenting the sender with a code entry interface that allows the sender to enter the code associated with the manufactured good;

transmitting the code over the communication network to a registration server; and

in response to said transmitting the code, receiving content over the communication network allowing the sender to select the restricted graphic for inclusion in the second chat message.

36. The computer according to claim 34, wherein the chat interface is displayed by the computer on a website on which the sender is participating in an activity other than chatting.

37. The computer according to claim 34, wherein the restricted graphic is omitted from the chat interface displayed to the sender when the computer displays the first graphic in the chat interface for selection by the sender prior to the registering of the manufactured good.

38. The computer according to claim 34, wherein the code associated with the manufactured good is entered by the sender in a website displayed by the computer to be transmitted by the computer over the communication network to a registration system for registering the manufactured good.

39. The computer according to claim 34, wherein the first graphic comprises a first emoticon and the restricted graphic comprises a second emoticon that is different than the first emoticon.

40. The computer according to claim 39, wherein both the first and second chat messages are messages to be transmitted in real time during a synchronous chat session involving the sender and the recipient, who is remotely located from the sender, and the content for the first and second chat messages is entered via a chat interface presented to the sender on a website by the computer.

41. The computer according to claim 40, wherein the method performed by the computer further comprises:

presenting the sender with a login interface the sender can use to log into a user account and gain access to the chat interface allowing the sender to select the first graphic, but not the restricted graphic, to be included in the first chat message; and

subsequent to the registering of the manufactured good, presenting the restricted graphic in the chat interface to allow the sender to select the restricted graphic for inclusion in the second chat message.

42. The computer according to claim 34, wherein the restricted graphic comprises an animated feature that is active during a presentation of the restricted graphic to the recipient of the second chat message on a website presented to the recipient by a user computer operatively connected to the computer over the communication network.

43. The computer according to claim 34, wherein the computer presents the chat interface to the sender while the sender is participating in an activity on a website, the chat interface comprising a text entry field and a menu comprising a plurality of available graphics from which the sender can select the first graphic.

44. The computer according to claim 43, wherein the activity on the website involves a virtual character and the restricted graphic comprises an appearance that resembles the virtual character.

45. The computer according to claim 44 further comprising an input peripheral that is to be manipulated by the sender to input control signals to the computer for controlling the virtual character on the website, wherein the virtual character is a virtual replica of another manufactured good previously registered by the sender.

46. The computer according to claim 34, wherein the restricted graphic is included in a set comprising a plurality of additional restricted graphics that are available for selection by the sender in response to the registering of the manufactured good, each of the plurality of additional restricted graphics being different than the first graphic available to be selected by the sender for inclusion in the first chat message.

47. The computer according to claim 46, wherein the plurality of additional restricted graphics included in the set are changed periodically.

48. The computer according to claim 47, wherein the set comprises a seasonal restricted graphic comprising one look during a first season and another look during a second season.

49. The computer according to claim 34, wherein the method further comprises:

displaying a seasonal graphic associated with a holiday to the sender during a corresponding holiday season; and

allowing the sender to select the seasonal graphic for inclusion in a seasonal chat message, wherein the seasonal graphic is not presented to the sender for selection in the seasonal chat message outside of the corresponding holiday season.