Chore and Rewards Tracker

• US 20110237227A1
• Filed: 03/25/2010
• Published: 09/29/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: T-Mobile USA, Inc. (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: T-Mobile USA, Inc. (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Wickman, Marianna, Kemery, Michael, Wang, Winston
• Granted Patent: US 8,483,738 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/414.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/629 to features or functions of an application
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2117 User registration
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2141 Access rights, e.g. capability lists, access control lists, access tables, access matrices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2147 Locking files
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2149 Restricted operating environment
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/00 Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/245 from a network towards a terminal

Abstract

A parent telecommunications device may assign chores to an activity-based child device and unlock functionality on the child device when a one or more chores is completed. The child device creates a graphical menu showing a chore list including the chores received from the parent device. The child device recognizes chores as completed based on an indication received from the user of the child device, the user of the parent device, or both.

Claims

1. A child telecommunications device, comprising:

a processor;

a display controlled by the processor that displays a list of chores to a user of the child telecommunications device; and

a memory coupled to the processor, the memory comprising;

a chore tracking module that receives an indication that a chore from the list of chores was completed by the user of the child telecommunications device; and

a rewards module that unlocks a functionality of the child telecommunications device in response to the indication that the chore was completed.

2. The child telecommunications device as recited in claim 1, wherein the list of chores is received to the child telecommunications device from a parent telecommunications device.

3. The child telecommunications device as recited in claim 1, wherein the functionality comprises device content.

4. The child telecommunications device as recited in claim 3, wherein the device content comprises web sites, audio media, video media, or textual media for consumption on the child telecommunications device.

5. The child telecommunications device as recited in claim 1, wherein the functionality comprises executable applications for execution on the child telecommunications device.

6. The child telecommunications device as recited in claim 1, wherein the functionality comprises communication with users of other devices via the child telecommunications device.

7. The child telecommunications device as recited in claim 1, wherein the memory further comprises:

a validation module that validates completion of a chore.

8. The child telecommunications device as recited in claim 7, wherein the validation module transmits an indication that the chore was completed to a parent telecommunications device and receives a validation from the parent telecommunications device.

9. The child telecommunications device as recited in claim 1, wherein the rewards module unlocks a functionality of the child telecommunications device when all chores on the list of chores are completed.

10. One or more machine-readable media containing instructions that are executable on a computing device to perform actions comprising:

transmitting a chore to a child telecommunications device for inclusion in a list of chores indicated on a graphical display of the child telecommunications device;

associating the chore with a number of credits that enable a user of the child telecommunications device to access a functionality of the child telecommunications device; and

remotely modifying the number of credits available on the child telecommunications device in response to an indication that the chore was or was not completed.

11. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 10, wherein different functionalities require different numbers of credits to access.

12. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 11, wherein a user of the computing device determines a numbers of credits required to access a given functionality of the child telecommunications device.

13. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 10, wherein the number of credits available on the child telecommunications device are increased in response to an indication that the chore was completed.

14. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 10, wherein the number of credits available on the child telecommunications device are decreased when an indication that the chore was completed is not received within a specified time period.

15. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 10, the actions further comprising remotely modifying the number of credits available on the child telecommunications device at a specified frequency.

16. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 10, the actions further comprising validating the indication that the chore was completed.

17. A method comprising:

assigning a task on a first telecommunications device to be completed by a user of a second telecommunications device;

configuring the second telecommunications device to display the task on a user interface of the second telecommunication device; and

unlocking a functionality of the second telecommunications device upon receipt of an indication that the task was completed.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the functionality to be unlocked is specified by a user of the first telecommunications device.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the functionality to be unlocked is selected by the user of the second telecommunications device.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the indication is received from a user of the first telecommunications device.

21. The method of claim 17, wherein the indication is received from the user of the second telecommunications device.

22. The method of claim 17, wherein unlocking the functionality comprises further configuring the second telecommunications device to enable the user of the second telecommunications device to access at least one of:

additional device content for the second telecommunications device,

additional applications executable on the second telecommunications device, or

additional contacts on the second telecommunications device.

23. One or more machine-readable media containing instructions that are executable on a computing device to perform actions comprising:

transmitting a chore to a child telecommunications device for inclusion in a list of chores indicated on a graphical display of the child telecommunications device;

associating the chore with a reward comprising a functionality on the child telecommunications device;

validating completion of the chore; and

remotely providing the reward to the user of the child telecommunications device.

24. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 23, wherein the reward comprises unlocking the functionality on the child telecommunications device when completion of the chore is validated.

25. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 23, wherein the reward comprises providing credits to the child telecommunications device when completion of the chore is validated, a specified number of the credits being consumed to unlock the functionality on the child telecommunications device.

26. One or more machine-readable media containing instructions that are executable on a computing device to perform actions comprising:

receiving an indication that a chore from a list of chores displayed on a child telecommunications device was completed by a user of the child telecommunications device; and

responsive to the indication, providing a reward comprising a functionality on the child telecommunications device to the user of the child telecommunications device.

27. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 26, wherein the reward comprises unlocking the functionality on the child telecommunications device responsive to the indication.

28. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 26, wherein the reward comprises providing credits to the user of child telecommunications device responsive to the indication, a specified number of the credits being consumed to unlock the functionality on the child telecommunications device.

29. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 26, wherein the chore is transferred from a first child telecommunications device to a second child telecommunications device upon mutual agreement of the users of the first child telecommunications device and the second child telecommunications device.