Presenting mobile-device message information on a television

• US 8,185,139 B1
• Filed: 10/11/2007
• Issued: 05/22/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/11/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: T-Mobile Innovations LLC (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: Sprint Communications Company LP (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Mangal, Manish
• Primary Examiner(s): MILLER, BRANDON J
• Application Number:
  US11/870,470
• Time in Patent Office: 1,685 Days
• Field of Search: 455/3.06, 455/422.1, 455/426.1, 455/456.1, 455/456.3, 455/466, 455/556.1, 455/557, 455/563, 455415-420, 379/142.01, 379/142.04, 379/142.06, 379/142.07, 379/93.23, 379/142.17, 379/142.15, 379/142.16, 348/14.02, 348/14.07, 725/131, 725/147, 725/139, 725/35, 725/40, 725/62, 725/122, 725/151, 725/153
• US Class Current: 455/466
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/28 Arrangements for simultaneous broadcast of plural pieces of information
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/38 Arrangements for distribution where lower stations, e.g. receivers, interact with the broadcast
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 2201/70 characterised in that receivers can be addressed
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/52 of users
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/80 characterised by transmission among terminal devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/762 at the source reformatting of additional data in video distribution servers H04N21/2355
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]

Abstract

A system and associated methods and media are disclosed for delivering to a user of a display device a notification of an incoming message and a series of interactive options such that the user can provide message-handling instructions to a wireless communications network for the incoming message. The notification and interactive options are transferred to a display device across at least a partially wired network. The message can be text-based or voice-based and can be inserted into a video stream that is communicated from the video-providing component to a media-receiving device that is in communication with the display device. The video-providing component receives message-handling instructions from the media-receiving device, as selected by the user, regarding the incoming message and then transmits the message-handling instructions to the wireless communications network.

Claims

1. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon for performing a method of presenting to a user a text-based message on a display device, said text-based message being associated with a wireless mobile device that is capable of receiving messages through a wireless communications network, the method comprising:

receiving an indication of said text-based message that is attempting to be communicated to said wireless mobile device and that is intended to be received by said user, wherein said text-based message is transferred through at least a message center of the wireless communications network;

referencing a data store of said wireless communications network to determine profile information associated with said user;

upon determining a location of said wireless mobile device to be in a home condition, determining from said profile information a media-receiving device and a video-providing component that is associated with said user; and

communicating said text-based message from said video-providing component to said media-receiving device, wherein the media-receiving device is responsible for presenting content of the text-based message on a display device operable coupled to the media-receiving device.

2. The media of claim 1, wherein said text-based message is a text-message or a voicemail message.

3. The media of claim 2, wherein said text-message comprises a data file having one or more alphanumeric characters or symbols and said voicemail message comprises an audio file of a caller'"'"'s recorded voice.

4. The media of claim 1, wherein said profile information comprises at least identification of a video-providing component and media-receiving device associated with said user and a physical address associated with said user.

5. The media of claim 1, further comprising receiving message-handling instructions from said media-receiving device.

6. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon for performing a method of transmitting message information intended for a wireless mobile device to a video-providing component and a display device associated with a user of said wireless mobile device comprising:

upon determining said wireless mobile device to be in a home condition, receiving at said video-providing component at least an indication of an incoming message;

inserting said indication of said incoming message into a video stream at said video-providing component;

inserting at least a portion of content of said incoming message into the video stream at said video-providing component;

communicating said video stream from said video-providing component to a media-receiving device, wherein said video stream is capable of being presented on said display device such that the indication of the incoming message and the content of the incoming message is visible to the user of the wireless mobile device;

receiving message-handling instructions at said video-providing component from said media-receiving device regarding the content of said incoming message, wherein the message-handling instructions are generated upon the user selecting interaction options, which are displayed on the display device, configured to assist the user in preparing a reply to the incoming message; and

transmitting said message-handling instructions from said video-providing component to a wireless communications network.

7. The media of claim 6, wherein said video stream further comprises the interactive options from which said user selects said message-handling instructions.

8. The media of claim 7, wherein said message-handling instructions are further configured to direct said incoming message to a text-based mailbox associated with said wireless mobile device, an alternate wireless mobile device, an instant message service associated with said video-providing component, or an alternate instant message service.

9. The media of claim 7 wherein said message-handling instructions are further configured to direct a voicemail to a voicemail account associated with an alternate wireless mobile device, a voicemail account associated with a home-based telephone, or to play said voicemail to said user through said display device.

10. The media of claim 6, further comprising one or more interactive options provided audibly to said user through a speaker in said display device and said message-handling instructions are received audibly from said user through a speech recognition module embodied within said display device or said media-receiving device.

11. The media of claim 6 wherein said incoming message is a text-message or a voicemail message.

12. The media of claim 7, further comprising removing said message information and said interactive options from said video stream upon receipt of said message-handling instructions.

13. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon for performing a method of presenting to a user a text-based message on a display device, said text-based message being associated with a wireless mobile device that is capable of receiving messages through a wireless communications network, the method comprising:

receiving an indication of said text-based message that is attempting to be communicated to said wireless mobile device and that is intended to be received by said user, wherein said message is transferred through at least a message center of the wireless communications network;

referencing a map accessible by the wireless communications network to determine a video provider associated with the user, wherein the map acts as a relational chart that provides a link between a phone number of the user'"'"'s wireless mobile device targeted by the text-based message and the user'"'"'s video provider;

when a location of said wireless mobile device is determined to be in a home condition, determining from said map the associated video provider;

communicating to the video provider information regarding the text-based message, an identifier of a source of the text-based message, and an identifier of the user'"'"'s wireless mobile device, wherein the video provider selects a media-receiving device that is associated with the user via the identifier of the user'"'"'s wireless mobile device and inserts the information regarding the text-based message and the identifier of the source of the text-based message within a video stream directed to the media-receiving device.