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1. The above description is set out with reference to a mes sage application As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art the functionality described may be achieved in hardware software firmware and by a combination Mobile commu nication device 10 may be configured to achieve the function ality described by computer code being downloaded to the device In this case computer readable media may be sup plied containing computer code executable on the mobile device A computer readable medium may include but is not limited to a magnetic or electronic storage device and may include a computer network such as the Internet It is contem plated that computer readable code may be provided to a device such that when executed on the device the function ality described will be available to the user of the device The device 10 may provide for an inbox status query response configuration that provides alternative options and rules to define the meaning of particular user queries and the appropriate responses generated by the messaging applica tion operable on the device 10 The user is preferably pro vided with a range of communication types to be summarized and the preferred format of a response In this manner the user may select one or more communication types to be summa rized and choose the response format that best suits the selected combination of communication types and their own activities Where a user is interested in a specific2. gener ally in response to the query and specifically with respect to voicemail communications As is set out above preferably the query input interface comprises a query button on the exterior of the device 10 that is accessible when the device 10 is stored in a holster The query button may either comprise a dedicated button or alter natively may comprise a function of a multifunction button that may be set to comprise a query button when a specific condition s is are met For instance the user could pre select that a multifunction button acts as a query button when the device 10 is in its holster but disables the query function when the device 10 is removed from the holster In this manner the user could rely on the display 16 to summarize the inbox when the device 10 is removed from the holster but could query the device 10 for an audible or vibratory summary of inbox contents when the device 10 is in its holster Allowing the user to pre select options in the response configuration permits flexibility in the preferred embodi ment For instance the device 10 may summarize the contents of the inbox through an audible response The audible response may comprise a beep or a chirp assigned to each message format The beep or chirp could sound once for each message of the assigned type that is present in the inbox The response may be limited to only sound a maximum number of times for a specified or greater number of messages in the in
3. a further embodiment a method of communicating one or more characteristics of a message inbox status of a mobile communication device is provided the device being operable to receive and store messages and to define a dynamic set of received messages to comprise a message inbox the device having a user input interface and a response interface the method comprising receiving using the user input interface a message inbox status query from the user upon receiving the message inbox status query initiating a non visual response to the user the response interface of the device consequently providing a non visual response to the user the non visual response communicating one or more character istics of the message inbox status The method may further provide that the response to be communicated is defined by a pre selected user option Alternatively the method may further provide that the response is one of an audible response or a vibratory response Ina still further embodiment a machine readable medium comprises computer code means executable on a mobile com US 8 359 011 B2 3 munication device for implementing a method of communi cating one or more characteristics of a message inbox status ofa mobile communication device the device being operable to receive and store messages and to define a dynamic set of received messages to comprise a message inbox the device having a user input interface and a response interface the me
4. communi cation type they would likely prefer a simple yes no response to their query Where a user is interested both in a specific communication type and the general status of the inbox they would likely prefer the specific communication type to be summarized first and a general summary of the inbox to follow US 8 359 011 B2 7 For instance the device 10 may provide for an option that allows the user to pre set the scope of the summary in response to pressing the query button A user expecting an important email for instance could set the query button to query the device 10 for new email messages The response could also be set to a yes no response by an appropriate communication method Thus the user could check for the arrival of a new message by simply pressing the query button and receiving a yes no response from the device 10 Alterna tively the option could define the response to be positive a beep chirp or vibration if there is a new message in the inbox and for no response if there is not a new message in the inbox Similarly a user expecting a phone call may define a query button to equate to a request regarding new voicemail com munications present in the inbox and define a particular response format for that communication In response to the user depressing the query button the messaging application determines the contents of the inbox and responds to the user either solely with respect to voicemail or optionally
5. inbox flag associated with each message or by a separate data structure which effectively indexes into the set of received messages stored on the device For the preferred embodiment a set of the received mes sages is made identifiable as being within a message inbox by computer code executable on the device As will be apparent such a set of messages 1s dynamic messages are added to the inbox as they are received by the device and are removed from the inbox by user actions such as deleting or moving such messages other user actions such as opening a message may also remove the message from the inbox Typically characteristics of the set of messages making up the inbox are of interest to the device user In the preferred embodiment device a messaging application calculates a count of such recent messages and displays this count on display 16 Icons may be associated with each of the different message formats and may be displayed along with a count for that message format to provide the user with a more detailed summary of the current contents of the inbox Individual messages may be viewed in more detail by accessing indi vidual message folders to review and access individual mes sages Upon receipt of a communication the device 10 may alert the user to the arrival ofa communication by one or more cues US 8 359 011 B2 5 which are typically visual audible or vibratory The type of cue s used for each communication type may be
6. or may take on other sizes and shapes including clamshell housing struc tures The keyboard may include a mode selection key or other hardware or software for switching between text entry and telephony entry Additional function power or mode selection keys may be incorporated into the sides or ends of the housing In addition to the processor 18 other parts of the mobile device 10 are shown schematically in FIG 1 These include a communications subsystem 100 a short range communica tions subsystem the keyboard 14 and the display 16 along with other input output devices 106 108 110 and 112 as well as memory devices 116 118 and various other device sub systems 120 The mobile device 10 is preferably a two way RF communication device having voice and data communi cation capabilities In addition the mobile device 10 prefer ably has the capability to communicate with other computer systems via the Internet Operating system software executed by the processor 18 is preferably stored in a persistent store such as a flash memory 116 but may be stored in other types of memory devices such as a read only memory ROM or similar storage element In addition system software specific device applications or parts thereof may be temporarily loaded into a volatile store such as a random access memory RAM 118 Communica tion signals received by the mobile device may also be stored to the RAM 118 The processor 18 in addition to i
7. pre selected by the user as an option Typically users will pre select not to receive a cue for frequent non real time communication types such as email or SMS messages While cues are useful for identifying new messages received by the device they are easy to miss and convey only limited information to the user Furthermore a difficulty with receipt driven cues is that they occur on receipt of a message which may not coincide with an opportune time for the user to receive a cue In order to avoid cues from interrupting other activities users often opt not to receive cues at all and rely solely on their inbox to alert them when a new communication has been received By not relying on the cues the users must repeatedly review the current contents of their inbox by viewing the visual interface display 16 Viewing the display 16 typically requires that the user remove the device 10 from a holster case or pocket possibly enter a password and direct attention to the display 16 Further a visual interface such as display 16 is of limited value to the visually impaired If display 16 is the only inter face provided for reviewing a summary of messages in the inbox a visually impaired user will be effectively deprived of this functionality Thus in certain circumstances it would be useful for a user to be able to determine the contents of the device inbox without having to view the display 16 The mobile communication device of the preferred em
8. the user input inter face and communicate in response to the query despite receipt of the selection regarding suppression of non visual cues a non visual response to a user via the non visual response interface the non visual response being configured to indicate contents of the message inbox with a single non visual summary that distinguishes between message types 2 The mobile communication device of claim 1 wherein the mobile communication device being stored comprises the mobile communication device being contained in a carrier 3 The mobile communication device of claim 1 wherein the mobile communication device being stored comprises the mobile communication device being contained in a holster 4 The mobile communication device of claim 1 wherein the more than one message type includes at least one of email text messages and voicemail 5 The mobile communication device of claim 1 wherein the non visual response interface comprises a speaker and the non visual response is an audible response 6 The mobile communication device of claim 5 wherein the non visual response comprises a beep or a chirp 7 The mobile communication device of claim 5 wherein the non visual response is a voice synthesized response 8 The mobile communication device of claim 1 wherein the non visual response interface comprises a vibratory response interface and the non visual response is a vibratory response 9 The mobile communication dev
9. upon the com munication network in which the mobile device 10 is intended to operate For example a mobile device 10 may include a communication subsystem 100 designed to operate with the Mobitex Data TAC or General Packet Radio Service GPRS mobile data communication networks and also designed to operate with any of a variety of voice com munication networks such as AMPS TDMA CDMA PCS GSM etc Other types of data and voice networks both separate and integrated may also be utilized with the mobile device 10 In operation the mobile communication device 10 may receive messages in a variety of formats all intended for the device s user Often messages are received when the user of the device is not in the process of using the device Messages are therefore stored for later review by the user In the device operation of the preferred embodiment such messages for example email SMS and voicemail format messages are initially identified in the device as being recent messages that have not been reviewed by the user The messaging application defines a dynamic set of received messages that have not been deleted or moved to a storage location as being held in a message inbox Different implementations may define the message inbox in different ways For example the message inbox may be defined by copying or moving messages to a pre defined data storage location in the device Alternatively such inbox messages may be defined by an
10. 0 1 552 1 store messages in a defined message inbox A user input 455 556 1 556 2 557 575 1 575 8 90 3 device is provided to permit a user of the device to make a 455 459 466 553 1 566 567 575 1 575 8 message inbox status query In answer to the query the device 455 418 422 1 5 67 709 206 207 204 provides a non visual response communicating one or more 379 93 01 93 18 370 310 2 328 338 352 356 characteristics of the message inbox Such characteristics are See application file for complete search history definable and the method of providing a non visual response communication is configurable The non visual response 56 References Cited potentially includes an auditory communication that is pro vided in response to a query made using an easy to access U S PATENT DOCUMENTS button located on the device 6 181 956 Bl 1 2001 Koskan 6 212 408 B1 4 2001 Sonetal wn 455 563 VOICE COMMUNICATION MODUL 140 Qe m SIGNALS CONTROL derenanneuannunenenesenmnianes nannu aa TRANSMITTER bes ener ence nee ener ane H H H H t i i H H H i i i i i i i i H H H H i i H H H i i i Mo epee ee rnunana meen teaa anaana eane meamea aa memene emmamma ae i N i H t 1308 A 16 106 DATA COMMUNICATION Ta Po MODULE SERIAL PORT Pa 116 i PTI MICROPROCESSOR i 4 KEYBOARD o 118 100 18 a SPEAKER P10 150 i i 158 i i V SIGNALS RECEIVER p ose e MICROP
11. 6 The method of claim 15 wherein mobile communica tion device being stored comprises the mobile communica tion device being contained in a carrier 17 The method of claim 15 wherein the mobile commu nication device being stored comprises the mobile commu nication device being contained in a holster 18 The method of claim 15 wherein the more than one message type includes at least one of email text messages and voicemail 19 The method of claim 15 wherein the non visual response interface comprises a speaker and the non visual response is an audible response 20 The method of claim 19 wherein the non visual response comprises a beep or a chirp 21 The method of claim 19 wherein the non visual response is a voice synthesized response 22 The method of claim 15 wherein the non visual response interface comprises a vibratory response interface and the non visual response is a vibratory response 23 The method of claim 15 wherein the query is an oral query 24 The method of claim 23 wherein the query is received using a wireless headset in communication with the mobile communication device 25 The method of claim 15 wherein the mobile commu nication device being stored comprises the mobile commu nication device being holstered and the mobile communica tion device not being stored comprises the mobile communication device not being holstered 5 15 25 30 35 40 45 55 12 26 The method of
12. HONE CONTROL LOs i 156 i 29 Claims 3 Drawing Sheets AUXILIARY 1 0 l OTHER DEVICE SHORT RANGE SUBSYSTEMS COMMUNICATIONS 120 102 US 8 359 011 B2 Sheet 1 of 3 Jan 22 2013 U S Patent L Sld cc ee Aeee Ol 201 oi 1OYLNOI ae YSLLINSNVYL po i SNOILVIINAWHOS SW3LSASBNS STWNOIS JONVY LYOHS 331A30 X3H10 J N 3 i 2s 9c oo i i 01 o i i 091 i 3NOHAOUIIN w gt j aso 313034 ee STNOIS ix i osi i Bi gn oo j Pi SITMNOOH bpp OYYO8AJN Tr ed JYVMLJOS YIHLO YOSS3I0NdONIIN a ff d noer N i AYOH3H py 7 Lite wisa for ae 3 NOILYJINNAWKROJ Y1YO i 901 91 S aoei L0 aina MSI N ane ovi l ST NOLLYDINAHHOD 3310A voel i US 8 359 011 B2 Sheet 2 of 3 Jan 22 2013 U S Patent sed 1S GW ze 91 8 aia ee fenucy Is HSV1d GNVN PORUOD HJN Olas JISV BOeLaU Jaou Aiowew sajou OYL 1531 PENET TE ln HLN PAUOD Id 10SSB001g ISOH JOy 4 Tid JOFBIGUBH YOOID MS h UgiHD 1353H BBY JeMOg U S Patent Jan 22 2013 Sheet 3 of 3 US 8 359 011 B2 Wait For Message Inbox Status Query 1005 Receive Message Inbox Status Query 1010 Check Current Query Options to Determine Scope of Query and Communication Type Selected 1020 Review Current Inbox Contents as Specified by Query and Current Options 1030 NO Inbox Contents Match Query 1035 a FIG 3 Su
13. az United States Patent US008359011B2 10 Patent No US 8 359 011 B2 Zinn 45 Date of Patent Jan 22 2013 bd 54 NON VISUAL INBOX SUMMARY FOR 6 311 076 B1 10 2001 Peuhu etal oo 455 566 MOBILE COMMUNICATION DEVICES 6 408 191 B1 6 2002 Blanchard etal 455 566 6 892 081 B1 5 2005 Elomaa we 455 575 1 6 895 257 B2 5 2005 Boman etal a 455 556 1 75 Inventor Ronald Scotte Zinn Waterloo CA 6 983 169 B2 1 2006 Vogel etal 455 550 1 7 363 060 B2 4 2008 Bernhart et al 455 567 73 Assignee Research In Motion Limited Waterloo 2002 0098831 Al 7 2002 Castell etal w 455 413 CA 2005 0108338 Al 5 2005 Simske etal 0aeeee 709 206 Notice Subject to any disclaimer the term of this FOREIGN PALENI DOCUMENTS patent is extended or adjusted under 35 wo AN A AE U S C 154 b by 732 days OTHER PUBLICATIONS 21 Appl No 11 675 136 Jabra BT8010 s user manual 2006 22 Filed Feb 15 2007 cited by examiner 65 Prior Publication Data Primary Examiner Jinsong Hu US 2008 0200149 A1 Aug 21 2008 Assistant Examiner San Htun 51 Int Cl 74 Attorney Agent or Firm Jenna L Wilson Dimock HO4M 1 725 2006 01 Stratton LLP 52 U S Cl wee 455 412 1 455 412 2 455 418 455 466 57 ABSTRACT 58 Field of Classification Search 455 412 1 A mobile communication device is operable to receive and 455 412 2 413 414 4 414 1 55
14. bodiment includes a user input interface that is an easy to access button available to the user for the user to make a message inbox status query which is accepted by the inter face The device further includes a response interface that is a non visual interface activated by computer code executing on the device of the preferred embodiment to provide the user with information about inbox status in response to an inbox status query In the device of the preferred embodiment such a non visual interface includes an audible interface and a vibratory interface each of which are selectable by the user as an option In operation instead of viewing the display 16 in order to determine the contents of the inbox the preferred embodi ment device allows the user to simply query the device 10 and receive a non visual summary of the contents of the inbox The manner of initiating such a query and the form and contents of the summary may be tailored through pre selected user options The query may be initiated by the user pressing a dedicated button on the housing of the device Preferably and according to the preferred embodiment the user may initiate a query by pressing a readily available multi function button on a por tion of the device housing that is accessible when the device is in its holster and which is easily locatable by touch In the preferred embodiment device the multi function button assumes the inbox query function when the user depresses
15. box e g 5 chirps for 5 or more messages in the inbox Alternatively the audible response may comprise a voice synthesized summary of the contents of the inbox e g Your inbox is empty or alternatively You have 1 voicemail message and 1 email message in your inbox Alternatively the device 10 may summarize the contents of the inbox through a vibratory response in response to the query Optionally different types of vibration may be used for each message type In addition to the communication format of the response the user may also select how the device summarizes the contents of the inbox For example the device may provide a yes no response to the query This setting for the preferred embodiment would be useful for instance where the user s query was specific to a particular type of message and the response is directed to whether or not a new message of that type was present in the inbox The option to provide only a yes no response may either be pre selected by the user as the response type to give when a query is received by the device 10 or it could be implemented as an additional dedicated button or dedicated function of a multi function button For example the user could press and hold the query button in order to receive a yes no response The response could either 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 8 be global i e is there something new in the inbox or else a specific message typ
16. ccordance with the query options If the inbox contents do not match the query the response application returns to wait for a new inbox status query 1005 and depending upon the current options the application may communicate a negative response to the user Depending upon the query type the step of forming a response may comprise combining inbox counts for different message types or checking for the presence of a particular message type in the inbox The response application then communicates the response to the user using the pre selected communication format 1050 Thus in response to the query the device 10 communicates the contents of the inbox to the user in a non visual fashion While the query mechanism has been described in terms of a button it could also be conveyed by means of a spoken query from the user or a combination of a button and spoken query where either more information is required from the user or the user is using a wireless headset In this case the device 10 may be equipped with voice recognition software and the user may query the device 10 with such a spoken request Typically wireless headsets comprise an earpiece incorpo rating a microphone and an activation button When a user wishes to make a call the user presses the activation button and if voice recognition software is running on the device verbally request a call be made to a number or a specific address entry in the device address book Thus since th
17. claim 15 wherein the user input interface is associated with the query in the first device state and is associated with a different func tion in the second device state 27 The method of claim 15 wherein the query is pre defined the method further comprising generating the non visual response by in response to receipt of the query reviewing the message inbox determining that contents of the message inbox match the query and upon the determining generating the non visual response 28 The method of claim 15 further comprising receiving a further predefined query via the user input interface in response to receipt of the further predefined query reviewing the message inbox determining that contents of the message inbox match the further predefined query and upon the determining generating a further non visual response to a user for communication via the non visual response interface the further non visual response representing a summary of the message inbox contents 29 A computer program product comprising a non transi tory computer readable medium comprising computer code executable on a mobile communication device the computer code being executable to cause the mobile communication device to selectively place the mobile communication device in a first device state when the mobile communication device is stored or in a second device state when the mobile device is not stored the processing subsyst
18. e could be pre selected as an option Alternatively the query button function selected by the user could specify the message type being queried for a yes no summary The device 10 may include a messaging application which is operable on the device 10 to carry out the functions described or it may include a specific response application that is executable on the device 10 to wait for specific inbox status query input from the user The response application may bea background application running on the device 10 or a response application called by the messaging application that manages the inbox Operation of an embodiment of a response application is summarized in the flow chart of FIG 3 The response appli cation waits for an inbox status query from a user 1005 Upon receipt of a query input from the user 1010 the response application checks the current query options 1020 to deter mine the scope of the query requested by the input and the communication format the device is to use to communicate the summary to the user The response application then reviews the current inbox contents as specified by the type of query requested by the input and the current options 1030 The response application compares the current inbox con tents with the specified query to determine if any inbox con tents match the query 1035 Ifinbox contents match the query the response application summaries the contents of the inbox queried 1040 to form a response in a
19. e user need not physically touch the device the device is often located in an inside pocket a briefcase handbag or other location that is relatively inaccessible for viewing the display Use ofa headset permits interrogation of the inbox without having to remove the device from its location A user queries the device by pressing the activation button and orally requesting an inbox summary In response to the request the device summarizes the contents of the inbox according to one of the methods previously described The systems and methods disclosed herein are presented only by way of example and are not meant to limit the scope of the invention Other variations of the systems and methods described above will be apparent to those skilled in the art and as such are considered to be within the scope of the invention US 8 359 011 B2 9 For example it should be understood that steps and the order of the steps in the processing described herein may be altered modified and or augmented and still achieve the desired out come The systems and methods data may be stored in one or more data stores The data stores can be of many different types of storage devices and programming constructs such as RAM ROM Flash memory programming data structures programming variables etc It is noted that data structures describe formats for use in organizing and storing data in databases programs memory or other computer readable media for u
20. em being configured to be responsive to a query received via a user input interface of the mobile communication device in the first state and unresponsive to the query in the sec ond state receive a selection via the user input interface the selection being configured to suppress presentation of non visual cues by the non visual response interface upon message receipt receive via a communications subsystem a message in a message inbox ofthe mobile communication device the message inbox containing more than one message type while the mobile communication device is in the first device state receive the query via the user input inter face and communicate in response to the query despite receipt of the selection regarding suppression ofnon visual cues a non visual response to a user via a non visual response interface of the mobile communication device the non visual response being configured to indicate contents of the message inbox with a single non visual summary that distinguishes between message types
21. he copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduc tion by any one of the patent document or patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records but otherwise reserves all copyrights rights whatso ever I claim 1 A mobile communication device comprising a user input interface a non visual response interface a communications subsystem and a processing subsystem in operable communication with the user input interface the non visual response inter face and the communications subsystem the processing subsystem being configured to selectively place the mobile communication device in a first device state when the mobile communication device is stored or in a second device state when the mobile device is not stored the processing subsystem being configured to be responsive to a query received via the user input interface in the first state and unre sponsive to the query in the second state receive a selection via the user input interface the selec tion being configured to suppress presentation of non visual cues by the non visual response interface upon message receipt receive via the communications subsystem a message in a message inbox of the mobile communication device the message inbox containing more than one message type 20 30 35 40 45 55 65 10 while the mobile communication device is in the first device state receive the query via
22. ice of claim 1 wherein the query is an oral query 10 The mobile communication device of claim 9 wherein the query is received using a wireless headset in communica tion with the mobile communication device 11 The mobile communication device of claim 1 wherein the mobile communication device being stored comprises the mobile communication device being holstered and the mobile communication device not being stored comprises the mobile communication device not being holstered 12 The mobile communication device of claim 1 wherein the user input interface is associated with the query in the first device state and is associated with a different func tion in the second device state 13 The mobile communication device of claim 1 wherein the query is predefined and the processing subsystem is further configured to generate the non visual response by in response to receipt of the query review the message inbox determine that contents of the message inbox match the query and upon the determination generate the non visual response 14 The mobile communication device of claim 1 wherein the processing subsystem is further configured to in response to a further predefined query received via the user input interface review the message inbox determine that contents of the message inbox match the further predefined query and upon the determination generate a further non visual response to a user for communication via
23. luding the number of new communica tions of each type currently present in the inbox The manner in which the device 10 summarizes the inbox may also either be fixed or in a preferred embodiment is adjusted as a pre selected user option In this manner a user may determine certain characteristics of the contents of the device inbox This will permit the user for example to ascertain whether removal of the device 10 from its holster is required to open the received message or messages The user may for instance simply press an exter nal button and receive a response from the device 10 alerting the user that new messages are present in the device inbox The device of the preferred embodiment is useful in situations where a user is occupied with other activities and wishes to know whether new messages have arrived before interrupt ing his or her present activity to further read or listen to messages received by the device 10 For example a user driving a car could query the device 10 for new messages The user only needs to pull the car over to stop in order to view the display 16 if the device 10 responds that new messages are in the inbox Similarly a user engaged in frequent meetings may set the device 10 to suppress receipt driven cues and set the response to an inbox status query to be provided by a vibra tory interface thus allowing the user to unobtrusively deter mine if a message has been received at times convenient to the user
24. mmarise Message Inbox 1040 Communicate Characteristic s of Message Inbox Status to User 1050 US 8 359 011 B2 1 NON VISUAL INBOX SUMMARY FOR MOBILE COMMUNICATION DEVICES TECHNICAL FIELD The invention relates to wireless communications In par ticular the invention relates to a method of communicating a summary of the contents of an inbox in a communications device to a user TECHNICAL BACKGROUND With the advent of mobile personal communication devices capable of receiving messages having different for mats it has been found desirable to include a visual interface to summarize the messages the user has received in each format Typical wireless mobile communication devices are capable of receiving both voice and text messages in a variety of formats including phone calls forwarded voice messages email SMS Short Messaging Service and other text mes sage formats Messages received by the device are notionally collected in a message inbox until the user operates the device to delete or move the message to a storage location When a user wishes to determine whether there are any new messages of interest listed in the message inbox for review the user must visually check the mobile communication device s visual display While a visual interface has proven to be a useful way to summarize the received messages to the user such an inter face requires the user to direct his or her attention to the interface to dete
25. nication device is operable to receive and store messages and to define a dynamic set of received messages to comprise a message inbox The device comprising a user input interface operable 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 2 to accept a message inbox status query from a user of the device a response interface operable to provide a non visual response to the device user a processing subsystem operable to initiate the non visual response by the response interface of the device to the user in response to the user input interface accepting the message inbox status query the non visual response being capable of communicating one or more char acteristics of the message inbox status to the user The user input interface of the mobile communication device may additionally provide a button located on the exte rior of the device the button being located to permit a user to readily access the button The button of the mobile communication device may addi tionally provide a multi function button one function of which is defined to be the message inbox status query The user input interface of the mobile communication device may be operable to accept a spoken message inbox status query from the user The mobile communication device may further be oper able to receive and store messages of more than one message type and in which the message inbox is capable of compris ing a set of received messages of more than one mes
26. rmine the contents of the inbox This can be distracting to the user or to others in situations where the user s visual focus is required elsewhere such as driving walking on a busy street or attending a meeting Since mobile communication devices are often worn in a holster or carrying case viewing the visual interface typically requires removing the device from the holster or case to view the inbox summary display Thus while visual review of the contents of the inbox is efficient the act of removing the device in order to view the display is potentially awkward or inefficient Further for devices with wireless headsets the device is often carried in an inside pocket a hand bag or briefcase It is therefore desirable to provide a system and method for allowing a user to review the contents of a message inbox on a mobile communication device without having to access the device to view the display BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In drawings which illustrate by way of example only a preferred embodiment of the invention FIG 1 is a representational schematic of a mobile commu nication device FIG 2 is a representational schematic of a microprocessor contained within a mobile communication device FIG 3 is a flowchart depicting operation of a response application to summarize the contents of an inbox according to a preferred embodiment DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT According to an embodiment a mobile commu
27. sage type Ina further embodiment a machine readable medium com prises computer code executable on a mobile communication device the mobile communication device being operable to receive and store messages and to define a dynamic set of received messages to comprise a message inbox the device comprising a user input interface a response interface and a processing subsystem the computer code comprising com puter code executable on the mobile device to enable the user input interface to be operable to accept a message inbox status query from a user of the device computer code executable on the mobile device to enable the response interface to be oper able to provide a non visual response to the device user computer code executable on the mobile device to enable the processing subsystem to be operable to initiate the non visual response by the response interface of the device to the user in response to the user input interface accepting the message inbox status query the non visual response being capable of communicating one or more characteristics of the message inbox status to the user The user input interface of the device may additionally provide a button located on the exterior of the device the button being located to permit a user to readily access the button and in which the computer code executable on the mobile device is operative to accept the user inbox message status query in response to the user pushing the said button In
28. se by a computer program Code adapted to provide the systems and methods described above may be provided on many different types of computer readable media including computer storage mechanisms e g CD ROM diskette RAM flash memory computer s hard drive etc and data signals that contain instructions for use in execution by a processor to perform the methods operations and implement the systems described herein The computer components software modules functions and data structures described herein may be connected directly or indirectly to each other in order to allow the flow of data needed for their operations It is also noted that a module or processor includes but is not limited to a unit of code that performs a software operation and can be implemented for example as a subroutine unit of code or as a software function unit of code or as an object as in an object oriented para digm or as an applet or in a computer script language or as another type of computer code Various embodiments of the present invention having been thus described in detail by way of example it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variations and modifications may be made without departing from the invention The invention includes all such variations and modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims A portion of the disclosure of this patent document con tains material which is subject to copyright protection T
29. the button for longer than a predefined time Alternatively the inbox query function may be assumed when the device is located in its holster In the device of the preferred embodiment the message application is operable to receive the inbox status query after the user initiates the query using the interface described above Computer code in the message application with the appropriate hardware on which the application executes con stitutes a processing subsystem operative to carry out func tions of the preferred embodiment as set out below The message application is operable to receive the query and in response to review the current contents of the inbox according to summary criteria to generate a summary of the current contents according to the summary criteria and to 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 6 communicate the summary to the user in a non visual fashion The summary criteria may either be fixed or in a preferred embodiment are adjustable as a pre selected user option The summary criteria determine the scope ofthe review and sum mary For instance the review may comprise a summary review ofthe inbox to identify and communicate the presence of new communications present in the inbox thus indicating to the user the need to remove the device 10 to view the display 16 Alternatively the review may be specific with respect to the presence of a particular communication type or a detailed review inc
30. the non visual response interface the further non visual response representing a summary of the message inbox contents US 8 359 011 B2 11 15 A method implemented at a mobile communication device the method comprising selectively placing the mobile communication device in a first device state when the mobile communication device is stored or in a second device state when the mobile device is not stored the processing subsystem being configured to be responsive to a query received via a user input interface of the mobile communication device in the first state and unresponsive to the query in the sec ond state receiving a selection via the user input interface the selec tion being configured to suppress presentation of non visual cues by the non visual response interface upon message receipt receiving a message in a message inbox of the mobile communication device the message inbox containing more than one message type while the mobile communication device is in the first device state receiving the query via the user input inter face and communicate in response to the query despite receipt of the selection regarding suppression of non visual cues a non visual response to a user via a non visual response interface of the mobile communication device the non visual response being configured to indicate contents of the message inbox with a single non visual summary that distinguishes between message types 1
31. thod comprising receiving using the user input interface a message inbox status query from the user upon receiving the message inbox status query initiating a non visual response to the user the response interface of the device consequently providing a non visual response to the user the non visual response communicating one or more character istics of the message inbox status The system and method of a preferred embodiment will be described in detail below by way of example only in the context ofa hand held mobile communication device as illus trated in FIG 1 to 2 However it will be appreciated that the principles of the invention apply to other mobile communi cation devices and the system is not intended to be limited thereby The hand held mobile communication device 10 includes a housing a keyboard 14 and an output device 16 The output device shown is a display 16 which is preferably a full graphic LCD Other types ofoutput devices may alternatively be utilized A processor 18 which is shown schematically in FIG 1 is contained within the housing and is coupled between the keyboard 14 and the display 16 The processor 18 controls the operation of the display 16 as well as the overall operation of the mobile device 10 in response to actuation of keys on the keyboard 14 by the user Preferably the device includes a vibration means as known in the art of mobile communication devices The housing may be elongated vertically
32. ts operating system func tions enables execution of software applications 130A 130N on the device 10 A predetermined set of applications that control basic device operations such as data and voice com munications 130A and 130B may be installed on the device 10 during manufacture In addition a personal information manager PIM application may be installed during manufac ture The PIM is preferably capable of organizing and man p i 0 a 5 20 40 45 50 60 65 4 aging data items such as e mail calendar events voice mails appointments and task items The PIM application is also preferably capable of sending and receiving data items via a wireless network 140 Preferably the PIM data items are seamlessly integrated synchronized and updated via the wireless network 140 with the device user s corresponding data items stored or associated with a host computer system Communication functions including data and voice com munications are performed through the communication sub system 100 and possibly through the short range communi cations subsystem The communication subsystem 100 includes a receiver 150 a transmitter 152 and one or more antennas 154 and 156 In addition the communication sub system 100 also includes a processing module such as a digital signal processor DSP 158 and local oscillators LOs 160 The specific design and implementation of the communication subsystem 100 is dependent
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