Display and service adjustments to enable multi-tasking during a video call

• US 9,973,729 B2
• Filed: 12/31/2012
• Issued: 05/15/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: T-Mobile USA, Inc. (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: T-Mobile USA, Inc. (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Morrison, Andrew R., Park, Christopher S.
• Primary Examiner(s): ZENATI, AMAL S
• Application Number:
  US13/732,170
• Publication Number:
  US 20140184723A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,961 Days
• Field of Search: 348 1401, 348 1402, 348 1403, 348 1407
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/756 adapting media to device capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/762 at the source reformatting of additional data in video distribution servers H04N21/2355
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/147 Communication arrangements, e.g. identifying the communication as a video-communication, intermediate storage of the signals selecting H04Q

Abstract

A telecommunication device configured to enable a user to engage in a telecommunication device activity while participating in a video call is described herein. The telecommunication device concurrently displays user interfaces for the video call and the activity. The user interfaces may be displayed adjacent to each other, or one may be presented as an overlay in front of the other. The telecommunication device also informs a video call service that the video call user interface is not displayed in full-screen and, as a result, receives video call data at a reduced frame rate or reduced quality-of-service.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by a telecommunication device, video call data associated with a video call, the video call data transmitted in first packets marked with a first quality of service indicating a first priority provided to the first packets;

during the video call, receiving, by the telecommunication device, input initiating a telecommunication device activity that is different from, and unrelated to, the video call;

responsive to the input, concurrently displaying, by the telecommunication device, an activity interface associated with the telecommunication device activity and a video call interface associated with the video call, the concurrently displaying including reducing a display size of the video call interface to accommodate the activity interface, wherein the concurrently displaying includes selecting, based on preferences or settings for the telecommunication device activity, a display arrangement among different display arrangements, the display arrangement displaying the activity interface adjacent to the reduced-display-size video call interface or displaying the reduced-display-size video call interface as an overlay to a portion of the activity interface;

receiving, by the telecommunication device, user input related to the telecommunication device activity while a user of the telecommunication device engages in the video call;

notifying, by the telecommunication device, a video call server of the reducing of the display size; and

responsive to the notifying, receiving, by the telecommunication device, the video call data transmitted in second packets marked with a second, reduced quality of service in data transmission, the second, reduced quality of service indicating a second, reduced priority provided to the second packets that are transmitting the video call data.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the telecommunication device activity includes at least one of electronic mail (email), texting, web browsing, gaming, media consumption, or a productivity tool.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the input is user input or is a prompt from a telecommunication device application or from a remote service.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the display size of the video call interface is reduced by a magnitude, the magnitude based on display size preferences or settings for the telecommunication device activity.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising enabling the user to resize either or both of the activity interface and the reduced-display-size video call interface.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the activity interface or the video call interface has a minimum display size.

7. One or more tangible non-transitory computer-readable media having stored thereon computer-readable instructions that, when executed by a telecommunication device, perform operations comprising:

while enabling a user to engage in a telecommunication device activity, initiating a video call that is separate and distinct from the telecommunication device activity, wherein the telecommunication device activity is unrelated to the video call;

concurrently displaying an activity interface associated with the telecommunication device activity and a video call interface associated with the video call, the concurrently displaying including either reducing a display size of the activity interface to accommodate the video call interface or overlaying the video call interface in front of a portion of the activity interface, wherein the concurrently displaying includes selecting, based on preferences or settings for the telecommunication device activity, a display arrangement among different display arrangements, the display arrangement displaying the video call interface adjacent to the reduced-display-size activity interface or displaying a reduced-display-size video call interface as an overlay to the portion of the activity interface;

receiving user input related to the telecommunication device activity while the user engages in the video call;

notifying a video call server that the video call interface will have a display size that is less than a total display size of a display of the telecommunication device; and

in response to the notifying, receiving video call data transmitted in packets marked with a reduced quality of service in data transmission, as compared to a quality of service used for transmitting the video call data when the video call interface is substantially a same size as the total display size, the reduced quality of service indicating a reduced priority provided to the packets that are transmitting the video call data.

8. The one or more non-transitory tangible computer-readable media of claim 7, wherein the initiating is responsive to receiving an incoming voice call or is responsive to user input.

9. The one or more tangible non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 7, wherein the display size of the activity interface is reduced by a magnitude, the magnitude based on display size preferences or settings for the telecommunication device activity.

10. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving, by a video call service during a video call associated with a telecommunication device, an indication that a display size of a video call interface rendered on the telecommunication device has been reduced resulting in a reduced display size, the indication based on an instruction sent to the telecommunication device to concurrently display, in response to input to the telecommunication device initiating a telecommunication device activity that is different from, and unrelated to, the video call, an activity interface associated with the telecommunication device activity and the video call interface associated with the video call, wherein concurrently displaying the activity interface and the video call interface includes reducing the display size of the video call interface to accommodate the activity interface, and wherein the concurrently displaying includes selecting, based on preferences or settings for the telecommunication device activity, a display arrangement among different display arrangements, the display arrangement displaying the activity interface adjacent to the reduced-display-size video call interface or displaying the reduced-display-size video call interface as an overlay to a portion of the activity interface;

in response to the indication, reducing, by the video call service, a quality of service to a reduced quality of service associated with packets that are to transmit video call data to the telecommunication device; and

causing, by the video call service, the packets carrying the video call data to be transmitted with a reduced priority associated with the reduced quality of service.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the indication specifies the reduced display size.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein reducing the quality of service comprises marking the packets transmitting the video call data with the reduced quality of service or requesting that a network operator reduce the quality of service used in transmitting the video call data.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein reducing the quality of service is performed conditionally based on a service plan or service agreement with a user of the telecommunication device.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the causing the packets carrying the video call data to be transmitted with the reduced priority further comprises marking a packet of the packets as being under the reduced quality of service for data transmission.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

determining, by the video call service, the reduced display size based on the indication; and

using rules or a model that associates specific display sizes with specific quality of service values to reduce the quality of service to the reduced quality of service based on the reduced display size.