AU2017200644A1 - Method, apparatus and system for generating an alert - Google Patents

Abstract

- 41 Abstract METHOD, APPARATUS AND SYSTEM FOR GENERATING AN ALERT 5 A method of generating an alert on an electronic communication device (101) is disclosed. An alert comprising an audio component, a visual component and a vibration component, is stored. The audio component defines a ring tone. The visual component defines a particular colour output flash pattern for a visual indicator (103) of the device (101) and the vibration component defines a vibration pattern for a vibration system (104) 10 of the device (101). The method detects notification of an incoming service on the electronic communication device (101). The service is identified based on an identifier associated with the notification. The alert is generated depending on the identified service so that the visual indicator (103) and the vibration system (104) of the device (101) operate in combination with the ring tone of the generated alert in accordance with the visual 15 component and the vibration component.

Description

-1 - 2017200644 31 Jan 2017 METHOD, APPARATUS AND SYSTEM FOR GENERATING AN ALERT Reference to Related Patent Application(s)

The present application is a divisional application of Australian Patent Application No. 2011202513, filed 27 May, 2011, the contents of which are incorporated herein in their entirety. 5 Technical Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to portable electronic communications devices such as mobile telephones, personal data assistants (PDAs) and, in particular, to a method, apparatus and system for generating an alert. The present invention also relates to a computer program product including a computer readable 10 medium having recorded thereon a computer program for generating an alert.

Background

The number of features that have been incorporated into electronic communications devices, including portable devices such as mobile telephones (including smartphones), personal data assistants (PDAs) and the like, has increased markedly in 15 recent years. The increase in features has occurred as a result of increasing memory and processing capabilities in such devices. Many electronic communications devices now permit users to customize their own device according to the personal preferences of the particular user.

One feature where users have been provided with increased customization is in 20 the audio alert associated with receiving incoming telephone calls. Many electronic communication devices indicate an incoming call by way of a customizable audio alert in the form of a ring tone. A ring tone is a sound, such as a bell chime, for example, played on the device. The sound may be stored as a file resident within the electronic 12514600 1 -2 - 2017200644 31 Jan 2017 communications device. The file may be configured according to any suitable file format such as a musical instrument digital interface (MIDI) file or a waveform audio file (.wav). The ring tone may also be in the form of an MP3 file or an adaptive audio coding (AAC) music file. It is now common for users to download a ring tone, in the form of an excerpt 5 of a favourite song, to a device over a telecommunications network. In this instance, the ring tone may be selected from a menu of options. Some devices allow the user to customize the ring tone for different people, so as to indicate the identity of a caller.

Some electronic communication devices also indicate an incoming call by way of a visual alert in the form of a flashing light. The flashing light is typically in the form of a 10 coloured light emitting diode (LED) positioned on the device. Still other electronic communications devices include an internal vibration system which may be used to provide a vibration alert where the device vibrates to some degree. The vibration alert may replace the ring tone in the event of an incoming call, for instances where an audio alert is unsuitable (e.g., when the user is in a meeting). However, the visual alerts and vibration 15 alerts provided in conventional electronic communications devices have little or no customizable capability. The visual and vibration alerts are typically factory set for a particular electronic communications device by a manufacturer of the device. For example, a device may be factory set so that a red LED flashes once every two or three seconds indicate an incoming call. The device may also be factory set so that the device 20 vibrates every other second to indicate an incoming call.

Summary

It is an object of the present invention to substantially overcome, or at least ameliorate, one or more disadvantages of existing arrangements. 12514600_1 -3 - 2017200644 31 Jan 2017

According to one aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a method of generating an alert on an electronic communication device, said method comprising: storing an alert comprising an audio component, a visual component and a vibration component, the audio component defining a ring tone, the visual component 5 defining a particular colour output flash pattern for a visual indicator of the device and the vibration component defining a vibration pattern for a vibration system of the device; detecting notification of an incoming service on the electronic communication device; identifying the service based on an identifier associated with the notification; and 10 generating the alert depending on the identified service so that the visual indicator and the vibration system of the device operate in combination with the ring tone of the generated alert in accordance with the visual component and the vibration component.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure there is provided an electronic communications device, comprising: 15 a memory for storing an alert comprising an audio component, a visual component and a vibration component, the audio component defining a particular ring tone, the visual component defining a particular colour output flash pattern for a visual indicator of the device and the vibration component defining a vibration pattern for a vibration system of the device, the memory also being configured for storing a computer 20 program; a processor coupled to said memory for executing said computer program, said computer program comprising instructions for: detecting notification of an incoming service on the electronic communication device; 12514600 1 -4- 2017200644 31 Jan 2017 identifying the service based on an identifier associated with the notification; and generating the alert depending on the identified service so that the visual indicator and the vibration system of the device operate in combination with the 5 ring tone of the generated alert in accordance with the visual component and the vibration component.

According to still another aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a system for generating an alert on an electronic communication device, said system comprising: 10 a memory for storing an alert comprising an audio component, a visual component and a vibration component, the audio component defining a particular ring tone, the visual component defining a particular colour output flash pattern for a visual indicator of the device and the vibration component defining a vibration pattern for a vibration system of the device, the memory also being configured for storing a computer 15 program; a processor coupled to said memory for executing said computer program, said computer program comprising instructions for: detecting notification of an incoming service on the electronic communication device; 20 identifying the service based on an identifier associated with the notification; and generating the alert depending on the identified service so that the visual indicator and the vibration system of the device operate in combination with the 12514600_1 -5 - 2017200644 31 Jan 2017 ring tone of the generated alert in accordance with the visual component and the vibration component.

According to still another aspect of the present disclosure there is provided an apparatus for generating an alert on an electronic communication device, said apparatus 5 comprising: means for storing an alert comprising an audio component, a visual component and a vibration component, the audio component defining a ring tone, the visual component defining a particular colour output flash pattern for a visual indicator of the device and the vibration component defining a vibration pattern for a vibration system of 10 the device; means for detecting notification of an incoming service on the electronic communication device; means for identifying the service based on an identifier associated with the notification; and 15 means for generating the alert depending on the identified service so that the visual indicator and the vibration system of the device operate in combination with the ring tone of the generated alert in accordance with the visual component and the vibration component.

According to still another aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a 20 computer readable medium having a computer program stored thereon for generating an alert on an electronic communication device, said program comprising: code for storing an alert comprising an audio component, a visual component and a vibration component, the audio component defining a ring tone, the visual component 12514600 1 -6- 2017200644 31 Jan 2017 defining a particular colour output flash pattern for a visual indicator of the device and the vibration component defining a vibration pattern for a vibration system of the device; code for detecting notification of an incoming service on the electronic communication device; 5 code for identifying the service based on an identifier associated with the notification; and code for generating the alert depending on the identified service so that the visual indicator and the vibration system of the device operate in combination with the ring tone of the generated alert in accordance with the visual component and the vibration 10 component.

According to still another aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a method of generating an alert on an electronic communication device, said method comprising: storing an alert comprising a visual component and a vibration component, the 15 visual component defining a particular colour output flash pattern for a visual indicator of the device and the vibration component defining a vibration pattern for a vibration system of the device; detecting notification of an incoming service on the electronic communication device; 20 identifying the service based on an identifier associated with the notification; and generating the alert depending on the identified service so that the visual indicator and the vibration system of the device operate in combination in accordance with the visual component and the vibration component. 12514600 1 -7- 2017200644 31 Jan 2017

According to still another aspect of the present disclosure there is provided an electronic communications device, comprising: a memory for storing an alert comprising a visual component and a vibration component, the visual component defining a particular colour output flash pattern for a 5 visual indicator of the device and the vibration component defining a vibration pattern for a vibration system of the device; a processor coupled to said memory for executing said computer program, said computer program comprising instructions for: detecting notification of an incoming service on the electronic 10 communication device; identifying the service based on an identifier associated with the notification; and generating the alert depending on the identified service so that the visual indicator and the vibration system of the device operate in combination in 15 accordance with the visual component and the vibration component.

According to still another aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a system for generating an alert on an electronic communication device, said system comprising: a memory for storing an alert comprising a visual component and a vibration 20 component, the visual component defining a particular colour output flash pattern for a visual indicator of the device and the vibration component defining a vibration pattern for a vibration system of the device; a processor coupled to said memory for executing said computer program, said computer program comprising instructions for: 12514600 1 -8- 2017200644 31 Jan 2017 detecting notification of an incoming service on the electronic communication device; identifying the service based on an identifier associated with the notification; and 5 generating the alert depending on the identified service so that the visual indicator and the vibration system of the device operate in combination in accordance with the visual component and the vibration component.

According to still another aspect of the present disclosure there is provided an apparatus for generating an alert on an electronic communication device, said apparatus 10 comprising: means for storing an alert comprising a visual component and a vibration component, the visual component defining a particular colour output flash pattern for a visual indicator of the device and the vibration component defining a vibration pattern for a vibration system of the device; 15 means for detecting notification of an incoming service on the electronic communication device; means for identifying the service based on an identifier associated with the notification; and means for generating the alert depending on the identified service so that the 20 visual indicator and the vibration system of the device operate in combination in accordance with the visual component and the vibration component.

According to still another aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a computer readable medium having a computer program stored thereon for generating an alert on an electronic communication device, said program comprising: 12514600 1 -9- 2017200644 31 Jan 2017 code for storing an alert comprising a visual component and a vibration component, the visual component defining a particular colour output flash pattern for a visual indicator of the device and the vibration component defining a vibration pattern for a vibration system of the device; 5 code for detecting notification of an incoming service on the electronic communication device; code for identifying the service based on an identifier associated with the notification; and code for generating the alert depending on the identified service so that the visual 10 indicator and the vibration system of the device operate in combination in accordance with the visual component and the vibration component.

Other aspects of the invention are also disclosed.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Some aspects of the prior art and at least one embodiment of the present invention 15 will now be described with reference to the drawings and appendices, in which:

Figs. 1A and IB collectively form a schematic block diagram representation of an electronic device upon which described arrangements can be practised;

Fig. 2 is a flow diagram showing a method of generating an alert on the electronic communication device of Figs. 1A and IB; 20 Fig. 3 is a schematic block diagram of a general purpose computer system upon which a remote server can be practiced; and

Fig. 4 is a flow diagram showing a method of providing an alert to the electronic communication device of Figs. lAand IB.

Detailed Description including Best Mode 12514600_1 -10- 2017200644 31 Jan 2017

Where reference is made in any one or more of the accompanying drawings to steps and/or features, which have the same reference numerals, those steps and/or features have for the purposes of this description the same function(s) or operation(s), unless the contrary intention appears. 5 It is to be noted that the discussions contained in the "Background" section and that above relating to prior art arrangements relate to discussions of documents or devices which form public knowledge through their respective publication and/or use. Such should not be interpreted as a representation by the present inventor(s) or the patent applicant that such documents or devices in any way form part of the common general knowledge in the 10 art.

Figs. 1A and IB collectively form a schematic block diagram of a general purpose electronic communication device 101 including embedded components, upon which the methods to be described are desirably practiced. In the described embodiment, the electronic communication device 101 is a mobile telephone handset. The mobile telephone 15 handset may be in the form of a low-end “feature phone”. Alternatively, the electronic device 101 may be in the form of a “smartphone” having more advanced processing resources and connectivity. The methods to be described may also be performed on higher-level devices such as desktop computers, server computers (e.g., server 300 shown in Fig. 3), and other such devices with significantly larger processing resources. 20 As seen in Fig. 1A, the electronic communications device 101 comprises an embedded controller 102. Accordingly, the electronic communications device 101 may be referred to as an “embedded device.” In the present example, the controller 102 has a processing unit (or processor) 105 which is bi-directionally coupled to an internal storage module 109. The storage module 109 may be formed from non-volatile semiconductor 12514600_1 - 11 - 2017200644 31 Jan 2017 read only memory (ROM) 160 and semiconductor random access memory (RAM) 170, as seen in Fig. IB. The RAM 170 may be volatile, non-volatile or a combination of volatile and non-volatile memory.

The electronic communications device 101 includes a display controller 107, 5 which is connected to a video display 114, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel or the like. The display controller 107 is configured for displaying graphical images on the video display 114 in accordance with instructions received from the embedded controller 102, to which the display controller 107 is connected.

The electronic communications device 101 also includes a visual indicator in the 10 form of a multi-coloured LED 103. The LED 103 is configured to flash upon receipt of a signal from the processor 105 indicating an incoming call.

The device 101 also comprises a vibration system 104 which is connected to the processor 105. The vibration system 104 is configured to vibrate the device 101 upon receipt of a signal from the processor 105, for example, to alert a user of an incoming call. 15 The electronic communications device 101 also includes user input devices 113 which are typically formed by keys, a keypad or like controls. In some implementations, the user input devices 113 may include a touch sensitive panel physically associated with the display 114 to collectively form a touch-screen. Such a touch-screen may thus operate as one form of graphical user interface (GUI) as opposed to a prompt or menu driven GUI 20 typically used with keypad-display combinations. Other forms of user input devices may also be used, such as a microphone (not illustrated) for voice commands or a joystick/thumb wheel (not illustrated) for ease of navigation about menus.

As seen in Fig. 1A, the electronic communications device 101 also comprises a portable memory interface 106, which is coupled to the processor 105 via a connection 12514600 1 - 12- 2017200644 31 Jan 2017 119. The portable memory interface 106 allows a complementary portable memory device 125 to be coupled to the electronic communications device 101 to act as a source or destination of data or to supplement the internal storage module 109. Examples of such interfaces permit coupling with portable memory devices such as Universal Serial Bus 5 (USB) memory devices, Secure Digital (SD) cards, Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMIA) cards, optical disks and magnetic disks.

The electronic communications device 101 also has a communications interface 108 to permit coupling of the device 101 to a communications network 120 via a connection 121. As described herein, the connection 121 is wireless and the 10 communications network is a cellular telecommunications network. However, in one embodiment, the communications network may be a computer network and the connection 121 may be wired. An example of a wired connection includes Ethernet.

As seen in Fig. 1A, the device 101 also comprises special components 110, connected to the embedded controller 102, representing those components required for 15 communications in a cellular telephone environment.

In one embodiment, the special function components 110 may represent a number of encoders and decoders of a type including Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG), (Moving Picture Experts Group) MPEG, MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3 (MP3), and the like. In another embodiment, the electronic communications device 101 may be a digital camera. 20 In this instance, the components 110 may represent a lens, focus control and image sensor of the camera.

The methods described hereinafter may be implemented using the embedded controller 102, where the process of Fig. 2 may be implemented as one or more code modules of a software application program 133 executable within the embedded controller 12514600_1 - 13 - 2017200644 31 Jan 2017 102. The electronic communications device 101 of Fig. 1A may be used to implement one or more of the described methods. In particular, with reference to Fig. IB, the steps of the described method 200 are effected by instructions in the software 133 that are carried out within the controller 102. The software instructions may be formed as one or more code 5 modules, each for performing one or more particular tasks. The software may also be divided into two separate parts, in which a first part and the corresponding software code modules performs the described methods and a second part and the corresponding code modules manage a user interface between the first part and the user.

The software 133 of the embedded controller 102 is typically stored in the non-10 volatile ROM 160 of the internal storage module 109. The software 133 stored in the ROM 160 can be updated when required from a computer readable medium. The software 133 can be loaded into and executed by the processor 105. In some instances, the processor 105 may execute software instructions that are located in RAM 170. Software instructions may be loaded into the RAM 170 by the processor 105 initiating a copy of one 15 or more code modules from ROM 160 into RAM 170. Alternatively, the software instructions of one or more code modules may be pre-installed in a non-volatile region of RAM 170 by a manufacturer. After one or more code modules have been located in RAM 170, the processor 105 may execute software instructions of the one or more code modules.

The application program 133 is typically pre-installed and stored in the ROM 160 20 by a manufacturer, prior to distribution of the electronic communications device 101. However, in some instances, the application program 133 may be supplied to the user encoded on one or more CD-ROM (not shown) and read via the portable memory interface 106 of Fig. 1A prior to storage in the internal storage module 109 or in the portable memory 125. In another alternative, one or more code modules of the software 12514600_1 - 14- 2017200644 31 Jan 2017 application program 133 may be read (or downloaded) by the processor 105 from the network 120. For example, the code modules of the program 133 may be downloaded from the server 300 to the device 101 via the communications network 120. In another alternative, one or more code modules of the software application program 133 may be r 5 loaded into the controller 102 or the portable storage medium 125 from other computer readable media. Computer readable storage media refers to any storage medium that participates in providing instructions and/or data to the controller 102 for execution and/or processing. Examples of such storage media include floppy disks, magnetic tape, CD-ROM, a hard disk drive, a ROM or integrated circuit, USB memory, a magneto-optical 10 disk, flash memory, or a computer readable card such as a PCMCIA card and the like, whether or not such devices are internal or external of the device 101. Examples of computer readable transmission media that may also participate in the provision of software, application programs, instructions and/or data to the device 101 include radio or infra-red transmission channels as well as a network connection to another computer or 15 networked device, and the Internet or Intranets including e-mail transmissions and information recorded on Websites and the like. A computer readable medium having such software or computer program recorded on it is a computer program product.

The second part of the application program 133 and the corresponding code modules mentioned above may be executed to implement one or more graphical user 20 interfaces (GUIs) to be rendered or otherwise represented upon the display 114 of Fig. 1A. Through manipulation of the user input device 113 (e.g., the keypad), a user of the device 101 and the application program 133 may manipulate the interface in a functionally adaptable manner to provide controlling commands and/or input to the applications associated with the GUI(s). Other forms of functionally adaptable user interfaces may also 12514600 1 - 15 - 2017200644 31 Jan 2017 be implemented, such as an audio interface utilizing speech prompts output via loudspeakers (not illustrated) and user voice commands input via the microphone (not illustrated).

Fig. IB illustrates in detail the embedded controller 102 having the processor 105 5 for executing the application program 133 and the internal storage 109. The internal storage 109 comprises read only memory (ROM) 160 and random access memory (RAM) 170. The processor 105 is able to execute the application program 133 stored in one or both of the connected memories 160 and 170. When the electronic device 102 is initially powered up, a system program resident in the ROM 160 is executed. Software code 10 modules of the application program 133 permanently stored in the ROM 160 may sometimes be referred to as “firmware”. Execution of the firmware by the processor 105 may fulfil various functions, including processor management, memory management, device management, storage management and user interface. The firmware may also manage the cellular communications. In this instance, the firmware may be configured to 15 monitor for incoming services on the device 101 such as incoming telephone calls, short message services (SMS) messages, as well as other services such as Facebook™, Twitter™, Linked-In™ messages and the like.

The processor 105 typically includes a number of functional modules including a control unit (CU) 151, an arithmetic logic unit (ALU) 152 and a local or internal memory 20 comprising a set of registers 154 which typically contain atomic data elements 156, 157, along with internal buffer or cache memory 155. One or more internal buses 159 interconnect these functional modules. The processor 105 typically also has one or more interfaces 158 for communicating with external devices via system bus 181, using a connection 161. 12514600_1 - 16- 2017200644 31 Jan 2017

The application program 133 includes a sequence of instructions 162 though 163 that may include conditional branch and loop instructions. The program 133 may also include data, which is used in execution of the program 133. This data may be stored as part of the instruction or in a separate location 164 within the ROM 160 or RAM 170. 5 In general, the processor 105 is given a set of instructions, which are executed therein. This set of instructions may be organised into blocks, which perform specific tasks or handle specific events that occur in the electronic communications device 101. Typically, the application program 133 waits for events and subsequently executes the block of code associated with that event. Events may be triggered in response to input from 10 a user, via the user input devices 113 of Fig. 1A, as detected by the processor 105. Events may also be triggered in response to other sensors and interfaces in the electronic communications device 101.

The execution of a set of the instructions may require numeric variables to be read and modified. Such numeric variables are stored in the RAM 170. The described methods 15 use input variables 171 that are stored in known locations 172, 173 in the memory 170. The input variables 171 are processed to produce output variables 177 that are stored in known locations 178, 179 in the memory 170. Intermediate variables 174 may be stored in additional memory locations in locations 175, 176 of the memory 170. Alternatively, some intermediate variables may only exist in the registers 154 of the processor 105. 20 The execution of a sequence of instructions is achieved in the processor 105 by repeated application of a fetch-execute cycle. The control unit 151 of the processor 105 maintains a register called the program counter, which contains the address in ROM 160 or RAM 170 of the next instruction to be executed. At the start of the fetch execute cycle, the contents of the memory address indexed by the program counter is loaded into the control 12514600_1 - 17- 2017200644 31 Jan 2017 unit 151. The instruction thus loaded controls the subsequent operation of the processor 105, causing for example, data to be loaded from ROM memory 160 into processor registers 154, the contents of a register to be arithmetically combined with the contents of another register, the contents of a register to be written to the location stored in another 5 register and so on. At the end of the fetch execute cycle the program counter is updated to point to the next instruction in the system program code. Depending on the instruction just executed this may involve incrementing the address contained in the program counter or loading the program counter with a new address in order to achieve a branch operation.

Each step or sub-process in the processes of one or more of the methods described 10 below is associated with one or more segments of the application program 133, and is performed by repeated execution of a fetch-execute cycle in the processor 105 or similar programmatic operation of other independent processor blocks in the electronic communications device 101. A method 200 of generating an alert on the electronic communication device 101 15 will now be described by way of example with reference to Fig. 2. The method 200 may be implemented as one or more software code modules of the application program 133 stored in the ROM memory 160 and being controlled in their execution by the processor 105. As described above, in some instances, one or more software code modules of the application program 133 executing the method 200 may be supplied to the user encoded on 20 one or more CD-ROM (not shown) and read via the portable memory interface 106 of Fig. 1A prior to storage in the internal storage module 109 or in the portable memory 125. In still another alternative, the one or more code modules of the software application program 133 may be read (or downloaded) by the processor 105 from the network 120, or loaded into the controller 102 or the portable storage medium 125 from other computer readable 12514600 1 - 18- 2017200644 31 Jan 2017 media. The one or more code modules of the software application program 133 may be downloaded by the user to the device 101 from the remote server 300 connected to the network 120. The user may be charged a predetermined fee for the download.

As seen in Fig. 3, the remote server 300 may be formed by a computer system. 5 The server 300 includes: a computer module 301; input devices such as a keyboard 302, a mouse pointer device 303, a scanner 326, a camera 327, and a microphone 380; and output devices including a printer 315, a display device 314 and loudspeakers 317. An external Modulator-Demodulator (Modem) transceiver device 316 may be used by the computer module 301 for communicating to and from the communications network 120 via a 10 connection 321. As described herein, the communications network 120 a cellular telecommunications network. Alternatively, the network 120 may be a wide-area network (WAN), such as the Internet, a cellular telecommunications network, or a private WAN. Where the connection 321 is a telephone line, the modem 316 may be a traditional “dialup” modem. Alternatively, where the connection 321 is a high capacity (e.g., cable) 15 connection, the modem 316 may be a broadband modem. A wireless modem may also be used for wireless connection to the communications network 120.

The computer module 301 typically includes at least one processor unit 305, and a memory unit 306. For example, the memory unit 306 may have semiconductor random access memory (RAM) and semiconductor read only memory (ROM). The computer 20 module 301 also includes an number of input/output (I/O) interfaces including: an audiovideo interface 307 that couples to the video display 314, loudspeakers 317 and microphone 380; an I/O interface 313 that couples to the keyboard 302, mouse 303, scanner 326, camera 327 and optionally a joystick or other human interface device (not illustrated); and an interface 308 for the external modem 316 and printer 315. In some 12514600 1 - 19- 2017200644 31 Jan 2017 implementations, the modem 316 may be incorporated within the computer module 301, for example within the interface 308. The computer module 301 also has a local network interface 311, which permits coupling of the server 300 via a connection 323 to a local-area communications network 322, known as a Local Area Network (LAN). As illustrated 5 in Fig. 3, the local communications network 322 may also couple to the network 120 via a connection 324, which would typically include a so-called “firewall” device or device of similar functionality. The local network interface 311 may comprise an Ethernet™ circuit card, a Bluetooth™ wireless arrangement or an IEEE802.il wireless arrangement; however, numerous other types of interfaces may be practiced for the interface 311. 10 The I/O interfaces 308 and 313 may afford either or both of serial and parallel connectivity, the former typically being implemented according to the Universal Serial Bus (USB) standards and having corresponding USB connectors (not illustrated). Storage devices 309 are provided and typically include a hard disk drive (HDD) 310. Other storage devices such as a floppy disk drive and a magnetic tape drive (not illustrated) may also be 15 used. An optical disk drive 312 is typically provided to act as a non-volatile source of data. Portable memory devices, such optical disks (e.g., CD-ROM, DVD, Blu-ray Disc™), USB-RAM, portable, external hard drives, and floppy disks, for example, may be used as appropriate sources of data to the server 300.

The components 305 to 313 of the computer module 301 typically communicate 20 via an interconnected bus 304 and in a manner that results in a conventional mode of operation of the computer system forming the server 300 known to those in the relevant art. For example, the processor 305 is coupled to the system bus 304 using a connection 318. Likewise, the memory 306 and optical disk drive 312 are coupled to the system bus 304 by connections 319. Examples of computers on which the server 300 can 12514600 1 -20- 2017200644 31 Jan 2017 be practised include IBM-PC’s and compatibles, Sun Sparcstations, Apple Mac™ or a like computer systems.

One or more of the methods described herein may be implemented using the server 300 wherein the process of Fig. 4 to be described, may be implemented as one or 5 more software application programs 333 executable within the server 300. In particular, the steps of method 400 to be described with reference to Fig. 4 may be effected by instructions in the software 333 that are carried out within the server 300. The software instructions may be formed as one or more code modules, each for performing one or more particular tasks. The software may also be divided into two separate parts, in which a first 10 part and the corresponding code modules performs the method 400 and a second part and the corresponding code modules manage a user interface between the first part and the user.

The software 333 may be stored in a computer readable medium, including the storage devices described below, for example. The software is loaded into the server 300 15 from the computer readable medium, and then executed by the server 300.

The software 333 is typically stored in the HDD 310 or the memory 306. The software is loaded into the server 300 from a computer readable medium, and executed by the server 300 in a similar manner to the program 133 executing in the device 101. Thus, for example, the software 333 may be stored on an optically readable disk storage medium 20 (e.g., CD-ROM) 325 that is read by the optical disk drive 312. A computer readable medium having such software or computer program recorded on it is a computer program product. The use of the computer program product in the computer system forming the server 300 preferably effects an apparatus for implementing the method 400. 12514600 1 -21 - 2017200644 31 Jan 2017

In some instances, the application program 333 may be supplied to the user encoded on one or more CD-ROMs 325 and read via the corresponding drive 312, or alternatively may be read by the user from the networks 320 or 322. Still further, the software may also be loaded into the computer system forming the server 300 from other 5 computer readable media.

The second part of the application program 333 and the corresponding code modules mentioned above may be executed to implement one or more graphical user interfaces (GUIs) to be rendered or otherwise represented upon the display 314. Through manipulation of typically the keyboard 302 and the mouse 303, a user of the computer 10 system 300 and the application may manipulate the interface in a functionally adaptable manner to provide controlling commands and/or input to the applications associated with the GUI(s). Other forms of functionally adaptable user interfaces may also be implemented, such as an audio interface utilizing speech prompts output via the loudspeakers 317 and user voice commands input via the microphone 380. 15 Prior to execution of the method 200, one or more “combined alerts” each comprising an audio component, a visual component and a vibration component, are stored in the internal storage 109 of the device 101. Typically, a plurality of such combined alerts each comprising a unique audio component, visual component and vibration component are stored within the internal storage 109. 20 The audio component of a combined alert is a ring tone. The ring tone may be a “truetone” audio recording, stored within the internal storage 109 in a file format such as MP3 or AAC. In this instance, the audio recording may be composed particularly for a particular combined alert. For example, the ring tone may be an excerpt from a song. The excerpt may have been particularly composed for the purpose of being used as a ringtone. 12514600 1 -22- 2017200644 31 Jan 2017

Alternatively, the ring tone may be any other sound including a monophonic ring tone comprising a series or sequence of musical notes. Again, such a monophonic ring tone may have been particularly composed for the purpose of being used as a ringtone.

In another alternative, the ring tone may be a polyphonic ring tone comprising 5 several notes at a time. In this instance, the ring tone may be stored within the internal storage 109 as a MIDI file. Again, such a polyphonic ring tone may have been particularly composed for the purpose of being used as a ringtone.

The visual component of a combined alert defines a particular colour output pattern and flash timing sequence for the LED 103, associated with the combined alert. In 10 one example, the visual component of a particular combined alert may be configured to flash the LED 103 in a green and yellow pattern every eight seconds according to a particular flash timing sequence (e.g, green flash for one second, wait one second, wait one second, yellow flash for one second, wait one second, green flash for one second, wait for one second, wait for one second...). 15 The vibration component defines a particular vibration pattern for the vibration system 104 of the device 101, including the length of the vibration. In one example, the vibration component of a particular combined alert may be configured to cause the vibration system 104 to vibrate the device 101 according to an eight second vibration timing sequence (e g, vibrate for one second, wait one second, wait one second, vibrate for 20 one second, wait one second, vibrate for one second, wait for one second, wait for one second, etc...).

As described herein, each combined alert may have a distinct ring tone, colour output pattern and vibration pattern. Under execution by the processor 105, each combined alert may also have a distinct timing sequence so that the LED 103 flashes and 12514600 1 -23 - 2017200644 31 Jan 2017 the vibration system 104 vibrate the device 101 according to the timing sequence. In some instances, the colour output pattern of the LED 103 and the vibration pattern of the system 104 may be combined and/or synchronised according to the ring tone. For example, the LED 103 may flash in-time to a truetone ring tone being output by the device 101 and the 5 device 101 may also vibrate in-time to the ring tone. A combined alert may also be configured to represent and/or be associated with a particular sporting team, sporting hero, artist, singer, institution (e,g, school, university, corporation, company), event (e g., sporting tournament) or the like. In one example, the combined alert may be associated with the “Football World Cup 2010” played in the 10 Republic of South Africa and represent the Australian football team, “the Socceroos” who are playing in the event. In this instance, the ring tone is a truetone excerpt of the “Football World Cup 2010” song. The excerpt may have been composed by the author of the Football World Cup 2010 song for use with the “Socceroos” combined alert. Under execution of the processor 105, the visual component of the “Socceroos” combined alert is 15 configured to flash the LED 103 in the team colours of the Socceroos (i.e., green and yellow) according to a particular timing sequence. For example, the visual component of the “Socceroos” is configured to flash the LED 103 in a green and yellow pattern every eight seconds according to the particular timing sequence described above (e.g, green flash for one second, wait one second, wait one second, yellow flash for one second, wait one 20 second, green flash for one second, wait for one second, wait for one second...). This particular timing sequence may be in-time with the beat of the truetone excerpt of the “Football World Cup 2010” song. Under execution of the processor 105, the vibration component of the Socceroos combined alert may be configured to vibrate the device 101 in-time to the truetone excerpt of the “Football World Cup 2010” song, with vibrations of 12514600_1 -24- 2017200644 31 Jan 2017 different lengths occurring at different points in the song. Accordingly, each time an incoming call or other service notification is received on the device 101, the Socceroos combined alert is generated by the processor 105 so that the truetone excerpt of the “Football World Cup 2010” song is output, the LED 103 flashes green and yellow and the 5 device 101 vibrates in-time to the song. A user of the device 101 is therefore able to show support for their team each time an incoming call is received on the device 101. Each team playing in the Football World Cup 2010 may have their own combined alert with their own unique song excerpt, flash pattern and vibration pattern.

It will be appreciated that a combined alert may be configured according to any of 10 a plethora of song excerpts (or other sounds), flash patterns and vibration patterns in order to represent or be associated with any particular sporting team, celebrity, sporting hero, artist, singer, institution (e.g., school, university, corporation, company), event or the like.

The configuration of a combined alert may be defined within a data file stored within the internal storage 109 of the electronics communications device 101. The data 15 file may be in the form of a text data file or a binary data file and is typically separate from a software application program such as the program 133. However, in another alternative, the configuration of a combined alert may be defined as one or more software code modules of a software application such as the software application program 133.

The data file comprises (or contains) the visual component defining a particular 20 colour output pattern for the LED 103 and flash timing sequence for the combined alert. The data file also comprises the vibration component defining a particular vibration pattern for the combined alert. The data file also comprises an audio component defining a ring tone for the combined alert. The audio component may either be the ring tone itself or a reference to an associated ring tone file containing the ring tone. The data file containing 12514600 1 -25 - 2017200644 31 Jan 2017 the audio component, the visual component and the vibration component may be referred to as a “bundle” or “content bundle”. Upon execution of the combined alert, the processor 105 is configured to compile the combined alert data file in order to call a referenced ring tone file stored in the internal storage 109 and output (or play) the ring tone, flash the LED 5 103 and control the vibration system 104 according to the visual component and the vibration component of the combined alert.

In one embodiment, one or more components of the combined alert may be customizable by a user. For example, the user may customise the flash pattern (including colour pattern, length and sequence of flash) and vibration pattern (including lengths and 10 timing of the vibrations). This customisation may be performed by editing the data file defining a particular combined alert.

In another embodiment, as described in more detail below, a combined alert may comprise merely a visual component and a vibration component without any particular audio component. A combined alert not including an audio component may be referred to 15 as a “low-end” combined alert. A method 400 of providing a combined alert to the device 101, will now be described with reference to Fig. 4. The method 400 may be implemented as one or more software code modules of the software application program 333 resident on the hard disk drive 310 and being controlled in their execution by the processor 305. 20 The method 400 begins at step 401 where the processor 305 performs the step of creating a data file comprising an audio component defining a ring tone for the combined alert; a visual component defining a particular colour output pattern for a LED and flash timing sequence for the combined alert; and a vibration component defining a particular vibration pattern for the combined alert. 12514600 1 -26- 2017200644 31 Jan 2017

At the next step 403, the processor 305 performs the step of providing the data file to the device 101, via the communications network 120. Step 403 may be implemented, for example, using a smartphone push service such as the Blackberry™ Push Service or the Apple™ iPhone™ push notification service. The data file may be pushed to the device 5 101 using Extensible Markup Language (XML). Upon being received by the electronic communications device 101, the data file for the combined alert is stored within the internal storage 109 by the processor 105, where the data file may be accessed by the software application program 133 implementing the method 200 as described below.

In the event that the audio component of the data file for the combined alert 10 comprises a reference to an associated ring tone file containing the ring tone for the combined alert, the ring tone file may also be provided to the device 101 at step 403 together with the data file.

Accordingly, when a new combined alert is produced for a particular sporting team (e g., the Socceroos), celebrity (e.g., Britney Spears), or the like, the data file for the 15 combined alert may be pushed to the device 101. The new combined alert may then be presented by the software application program 133 to the user of the device 101 as a new alert option for the user to select and use. In one embodiment, the user may be required to make a payment in order to use the new combined alert on the device 101.

The one or more code modules of the application program 133 implementing the 20 method 200, for example, may also be pushed to the device 101 in a similar manner to the alerts as described above.

The method 200 begins at step 201, where the processor 105 performs the step of detecting notification of an incoming service on the electronic communication device 101. In the present example, the incoming service is a telephone call. However, the incoming 12514600 1 -27- 2017200644 31 Jan 2017 service may alternatively be a short message service (SMS) message, a multimedia message service (MMS) message, an electronic mail (Email) message, a Facebook™ notification, a Twitter™ notification, a Linked-In™ notification or the like. As described above, the firmware stored within the ROM 160 may be configured to monitor for 5 incoming service notifications on the device 101 in order to determine which service has been received and to manage the device 101 accordingly. Similarly, the code modules of the application program 133 implementing the method 200, under execution of the processor 105, may monitor for and detect incoming service notifications.

At the next step 203, the processor 105 performs the step of identifying the 10 service based on an identifier associated with the detected notification. Each notification has an identifying portion including an identifier representing a particular service (e g., telephone call, SMS message, MMS message, Email message, Facebook™ notification, Twitter™ notification, Linked-In™ notification). In the present example, the processor 105 determines that the incoming service is a telephone call based on the identifier 15 associated with the detected notification.

Then at the next step 205, the processor 105 performs the step of selecting one of the plurality of combined alerts stored within the internal storage 109 depending on the identified service. In particular, at step 105, the processor 105 selects a data file stored in the internal storage 109 defining the configuration for a combined alert. In the present 20 example, as the incoming service is a telephone call, the processor 205 selects a data file, at step 205, defining the configuration for the Socceroos combined alert. However, each particular service may be associated with a particular combined alert. For example, if the processor 105 determines that the service is a Facebook™ notification at step 203, then the processor 105 may select a “RAP music” combined alert stored in the internal storage 109. 12514600 1 -28- 2017200644 31 Jan 2017

In the RAP music combined alert, the ring tone may be a excerpt of a RAP song composed particularly for the RAP music combined alert, the flash pattern of the RAP music combined alert may configure the LED 103 to flash in combination or in-synch to the RAP song and the vibration pattern may cause the vibration system 104 to vibrate the device 5 101 for different lengths of time depending on the beat of the RAP song. Similarly, a

Twitter™ notification may be associated with a “Kylie Minogue” combined alert where the ring tone is an excerpt of the pop-song “I should be so lucky” and the LED 103 flashes pink and white and the device 101 vibrates in-time to the song. Again, it will be appreciated that any particular incoming service may be associated with any one of a 10 plethora of combined alerts comprising any one of a plethora of song excerpts, flash patterns and vibration patterns in order to represent any particular sporting team, celebrity, sporting hero, artist, singer, institution (e g., school, university, corporation, company), event or the like.

The method 200 concludes at the next step 207, where the processor 105 performs 15 the step of generating (or triggering) the combined alert selected at step 205 depending on the service identified at step 203. The LED 103 (i.e., visual indicator) and the vibration system 104 of the device 101 operate in combination with the ring tone of the generated alert in accordance with the visual component and the vibration component. In particular, at step 207, the processor 105 compiles the combined alert data file selected at step 205 in 20 order to call a referenced ring tone file stored in the internal storage 109 and output (or play) the ring tone, flash the LED 103 and control the vibration system 104 according to the visual component and the vibration component of the selected combined alert. In the present example, as the incoming service is a telephone call, at step 207, the processor 205 generates the Socceroos combined alert stored in the internal storage 109, so that the LED 12514600_1 -29- 2017200644 31 Jan 2017 103 (i.e., the visual indicator) and the vibration system 104 of the device 101 operate in combination with the ring tone of the combined alert.

The visual component of the “Socceroos” combined alert is configured to flash the LED 103 in the team colours of the Socceroos (i.e., green and yellow) according to the 5 particular timing sequence as described above. Further, the vibration component of the Socceroos combined alert is configured to vibrate the device 101 in combination and/or intime to the truetone excerpt of the “Football World Cup 2010” song, with vibrations of different lengths occurring at different points in the song.

As described above, the data file for a combined alert is pushed to the device 101, 10 via the communications network 120, using a push service. In an alternative, the data file for the combined alert may be downloaded, via the network 120. For example, the software application program 133, under execution of the processor 105, may notify the user of the device 101 of the combined alert, for example, upon the combined alert being newly created. The user may then choose to purchase the newly created combined alert, 15 whereupon after confirming a payment by the user, the program 133, under execution of the processor 105, may download the data file for the new combined alert from the server 300 to the device 101. In one embodiment, the user may be able to select and/or pay for a portion of the combined alert. For example, the user may wish to purchase and use the ring tone of the combined alert without the accompanying visual and vibration component. 20 As described above, one or more code modules of the software application program 133 may be read (or downloaded) by the processor 105 from the network 120, or loaded into the controller 102 or the portable storage medium 125 from other computer readable media. Again, the user of the device 101 may be required to make a payment in order to access or download one or more code modules of the application program 133. In 12514600 1 -30- 2017200644 31 Jan 2017 this instance, the user may choose to purchase the application program 133 using the device 101, whereupon after confirming a payment by the user, the processor 105, may download the code modules for the application program 133 from the server 300, for example, to the device 101. The data files for one or more combined alerts associated with 5 the application program 133 may also be downloaded together with the application program 133.

Industrial Applicability

The arrangements described are applicable to the computer and data processing industries and particularly for the telecommunications industry. The described methods 10 provide a commercial advantage not only to the providers of the application program 133 implementing the method 200, but also provide another source of revenue for the authors of the songs to be used as the ring tones.

The foregoing describes only some embodiments of the present invention, and modifications and/or changes can be made thereto without departing from the scope and 15 spirit of the invention, the embodiments being illustrative and not restrictive. For example, as described above, in one embodiment, a “low-end” combined alert may comprise a customizable visual component and a customizable vibration component without any particular audio component. For such a low-end combined alert, a user may customise the flash pattern (including colour pattern, length and sequence of flash) and vibration pattern 20 (including lengths and timing of the vibrations) in a similar manner to the combined alert described above with reference to Fig. 2. Upon execution, the colour flash pattern and vibration pattern of the low-end combined alert is merely generated with any generic ring tone set up to play on the device 101. 12514600 1 -31 - 2017200644 31 Jan 2017

In the context of this specification, the word “comprising” means “including principally but not necessarily solely” or “having” or “including”, and not “consisting only of’. Variations of the word "comprising", such as “comprise” and “comprises” have correspondingly varied meanings. 12514600 1

Claims (20)

1. The claims defining the invention are as follows:

   1. A method of generating an alert on an electronic communication device, said method comprising: storing an alert comprising an audio component, a visual component and a vibration component, the audio component defining a ring tone, the visual component defining a particular colour output flash pattern for a visual indicator of the device and the vibration component defining a vibration pattern for a vibration system of the device; detecting notification of an incoming service on the electronic communication device; identifying the service based on an identifier associated with the notification; and generating the alert depending on the identified service so that the visual indicator and the vibration system of the device operate in combination with the ring tone of the generated alert in accordance with the visual component and the vibration component.
2. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the colour output flash pattern is synchronised to the ring tone.
3. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the vibration pattern in synchronised to the ring tone.
4. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the device comprises a plurality of alerts each comprising an audio component, a visual component and a vibration component.
5. 5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising selecting one of the plurality of alerts depending on the identified service.
6. 6. An electronic communications device, comprising: a memory for storing an alert comprising an audio component, a visual component and a vibration component, the audio component defining a particular ring tone, the visual component defining a particular colour output flash pattern for a visual indicator of the device and the vibration component defining a vibration pattern for a vibration system of the device, the memory also being configured for storing a computer program; a processor coupled to said memory for executing said computer program, said computer program comprising instructions for: detecting notification of an incoming service on the electronic communication device; identifying the service based on an identifier associated with the notification; and generating the alert depending on the identified service so that the visual indicator and the vibration system of the device operate in combination with the ring tone of the generated alert in accordance with the visual component and the vibration component.
7. 7. A system for generating an alert on an electronic communication device, said system comprising: a memory for storing an alert comprising an audio component, a visual component and a vibration component, the audio component defining a particular ring tone, the visual component defining a particular colour output flash pattern for a visual indicator of the device and the vibration component defining a vibration pattern for a vibration system of the device, the memory also being configured for storing a computer program; a processor coupled to said memory for executing said computer program, said computer program comprising instructions for: detecting notification of an incoming service on the electronic communication device; identifying the service based on an identifier associated with the notification; and generating the alert depending on the identified service so that the visual indicator and the vibration system of the device operate in combination with the ring tone of the generated alert in accordance with the visual component and the vibration component.
8. 8. An apparatus for generating an alert on an electronic communication device, said apparatus comprising: means for storing an alert comprising an audio component, a visual component and a vibration component, the audio component defining a ring tone, the visual component defining a particular colour output flash pattern for a visual indicator of the device and the vibration component defining a vibration pattern for a vibration system of the device; means for detecting notification of an incoming service on the electronic communication device; means for identifying the service based on an identifier associated with the notification; and means for generating the alert depending on the identified service so that the visual indicator and the vibration system of the device operate in combination with the ring tone of the generated alert in accordance with the visual component and the vibration component.
9. 9. A computer readable medium having a computer program stored thereon for generating an alert on an electronic communication device, said program comprising: code for storing an alert comprising an audio component, a visual component and a vibration component, the audio component defining a ring tone, the visual component defining a particular colour output flash pattern for a visual indicator of the device and the vibration component defining a vibration pattern for a vibration system of the device; code for detecting notification of an incoming service on the electronic communication device; code for identifying the service based on an identifier associated with the notification; and code for generating the alert depending on the identified service so that the visual indicator and the vibration system of the device operate in combination with the ring tone of the generated alert in accordance with the visual component and the vibration component.
10. 10. A method of generating an alert on an electronic communication device, said method comprising: storing an alert comprising a visual component and a vibration component, the visual component defining a particular colour output flash pattern for a visual indicator of the device and the vibration component defining a vibration pattern for a vibration system of the device; detecting notification of an incoming service on the electronic communication device; identifying the service based on an identifier associated with the notification; and generating the alert depending on the identified service so that the visual indicator and the vibration system of the device operate in combination in accordance with the visual component and the vibration component.
11. 11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the colour output flash pattern is synchronised to a ring tone.
12. 12. The method according to claim 10, wherein the vibration pattern in synchronised to a ring tone.
13. 13. The method according to claim 10, wherein the device comprises a plurality of alerts each comprising a visual component and a vibration component.
14. 14. The method according to claim 11, wherein one or more of the alerts further comprises an audio component.
15. 15. The method according to any one of claims 13 or 14, further comprising selecting one of the plurality of alerts depending on the identified service.
16. 16. An electronic communications device, comprising: a memory for storing an alert comprising a visual component and a vibration component, the visual component defining a particular colour output flash pattern for a visual indicator of the device and the vibration component defining a vibration pattern for a vibration system of the device; a processor coupled to said memory for executing said computer program, said computer program comprising instructions for: detecting notification of an incoming service on the electronic communication device; identifying the service based on an identifier associated with the notification; and generating the alert depending on the identified service so that the visual indicator and the vibration system of the device operate in combination in accordance with the visual component and the vibration component.
17. 17. A system for generating an alert on an electronic communication device, said system comprising: a memory for storing an alert comprising a visual component and a vibration component, the visual component defining a particular colour output flash pattern for a visual indicator of the device and the vibration component defining a vibration pattern for a vibration system of the device; a processor coupled to said memory for executing said computer program, said computer program comprising instructions for: detecting notification of an incoming service on the electronic communication device; identifying the service based on an identifier associated with the notification; and generating the alert depending on the identified service so that the visual indicator and the vibration system of the device operate in combination in accordance with the visual component and the vibration component.
18. 18. An apparatus for generating an alert on an electronic communication device, said apparatus comprising: means for storing an alert comprising a visual component and a vibration component, the visual component defining a particular colour output flash pattern for a visual indicator of the device and the vibration component defining a vibration pattern for a vibration system of the device; means for detecting notification of an incoming service on the electronic communication device; means for identifying the service based on an identifier associated with the notification; and means for generating the alert depending on the identified service so that the visual indicator and the vibration system of the device operate in combination in accordance with the visual component and the vibration component.
19. 19. A computer readable medium having a computer program stored thereon for generating an alert on an electronic communication device, said program comprising: code for storing an alert comprising a visual component and a vibration component, the visual component defining a particular colour output flash pattern for a visual indicator of the device and the vibration component defining a vibration pattern for a vibration system of the device; code for detecting notification of an incoming service on the electronic communication device; code for identifying the service based on an identifier associated with the notification; and code for generating the alert depending on the identified service so that the visual indicator and the vibration system of the device operate in combination in accordance with the visual component and the vibration component.
20. 20. A method of generating an alert on an electronic communication device, said method being substantially as herein before described with reference to any one of the embodiments as that embodiment is shown in the accompanying drawings.