WO1993022882A1

WO1993022882A1 - Receiver and method for presenting type of message

Info

Publication number: WO1993022882A1
Application number: PCT/US1993/003384
Authority: WO
Inventors: Silvia M. Viteri; Gabriel G. Khouri; Jorge L. Olazabal
Original assignee: Motorola, Inc.
Priority date: 1992-05-04
Filing date: 1993-04-12
Publication date: 1993-11-11

Abstract

A selective call receiver (10) for receiving (21) and presenting (28) a plurality of messages to a user comprises a receiver (11) for receiving (21) messages and a microprocessor (12) for determining (24) the type of each received message. A presentation device (15) presents (29) the type of each message prior to presenting (28) the message in response to a user initiated action.

Description

RECEIVER AND METHOD FOR PRESENTING TYPE OF MESSAGE

Field of the Invention

This invention relates in general to receivers, and more specifically to a method and a selective call receiver for receiving more than one type of message.

Background of the Invention

Selective call receivers such as pagers alert the user when a message has been received. Such a device generally incorporates either an audible alert which can be heard by the user or a silent alert, such as a vibrating sensation or a flashing light. When a selective call receiver receives a message, the message is stored within a memory. The message may be short, e.g., a telephone number, or it may be long, e.g., a detailed report.

Receiving long messages may provide a problem for the user of the selective call receiver in that the user may be in a situation in which it is undesirable to take the time to read the long message. Previously, the user was unable to determine the type of message received prior to reading the message. Therefore, the user could have begun to read a long message, e.g., a detailed report, before deciding that he would rather wait and read the message at a more convenient time, thereby wasting time and concentration. Furthermore, the user of a selective call receiver that utilizes a voice message could have unintentionally begun to listen to a message before realizing that the message was of a private or confidential nature. Summary of the Invention

In a selective call receiver for presenting received messages to a user, a method comprises the steps of receiving a message, determining the type of message received, and selectively enabling the presentation of the type of message in response to a user initiated action.

Brief Description of the Drawings

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a selective call receiver. FIG- 2 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of the present invention.

Description of a Preferred Embodiment

Referring to FIG. 1, an electronic device for receiving messages such as a selective call receiver 10 comprises receiver circuitry 11 for receiving and demodulating signals. A memory 13 is coupled to the microprocessor 12 for storing those messages received by the selective call receiver 10. The microprocessor 12 also controls the storing and recalling of the messages in a manner well known to those skilled in the art. An alert device 14 coupled to the microprocessor 12 provides an alert to the user that a message has been received and is ready to be presented. An output device 15 may be, for example, a visible display such as a liquid crystal display controlled by the microprocessor 12, and an external data port 16 may be, for example, a port which is connected to a printer or a computer. The controls 17 allow the user to command the microprocessor 12 to perform various operations well known to those skilled in the art and may include switches to control functions such as turning on and off the selective call receiver 10, displaying a message, moving the cursor, etc. Although the preferred embodiment is described as a selective call receiver, the invention described herein may be used with any type of message presentation device. The messages, for example, could be sent without an address identifying specific receivers. Referring to FIG. 2, the method according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises the receiver circuitry 11 receiving 21 a message and decoding 22 the message prior to storing 23 the message in memory 13. The type of message is determined 24 by the microprocessor 12 in a manner well known to those skilled in the art and is stored 25 in the memory 13. In the preferred embodiment of this invention, the type of message comprises the information format of the message, e.g., numeric or facsimile. In other embodiments of this invention, by way of example, the type of message may refer to the length, e.g., 7 characters or 5,000 characters, or the priority of the message . In still another embodiment of this invention, the type of message may refer to the type of file, e.g., the software application (word processor, data base, etc.) . The message is then selected 26, either automatically upon receipt of the message or by a control 17 such as a switch which is manually depressed by the user. In this manner, previously stored messages may be recalled by the user. User input determines if the type of message is to be presented 27, and, if not, the message is presented 28 by the output device 15. If the type of message is to be presented, then the type of message is presented 29 by the output device 15. Subsequent to presentation of the type of message 29, user input determines if the message is to be presented 30, and, if so, the message may be presented 28 by the output device 15. In an alternate embodiment, the type of message would be automatically presented prior to presentation of the message. Therefore, step 27 is optional. By knowing the type of received message before the message is presented, the user may postpone reading the message until a more convenient time, e.g., if the message is long or unimportant. Additionally, the user may prefer to couple the selective call receiver to another device, such as a printer or computer, for .printing a long message, e.g., a facsimile, instead of attempting to read a long message on the receiver display.

What is claimed is:

Claims

1. An electronic device for presenting a plurality of messages to a user, comprising: receiver means for receiving a message; determining means coupled to the receiver means for determining the type of message received; and presenting means coupled to the determining means for presenting the type of message.

2. The electronic device in accordance with claim 1, wherein the presenting means presents the type of message automatically.

3. The electronic device in accordance with claim 1, wherein the presenting means presents the type of message in response to a user initiated action.

4. The electronic device in accordance with claim 1, further comprising control means coupled to the presenting means for selectively enabling the presentation of the message in response to a user initiated action subsequent to presentation of the type of message .

5. An electronic device for presenting a plurality of messages having first and second information formats to a user, comprising: receiver means for receiving a message; determining means coupled to the receiver means for determining the information format of the message received; and presenting means coupled to the determining means for presenting the information format of the message prior to presenting the message.

6. The electronic device in accordance with claim 5, further comprising control means coupled to the presenting means for selectively enabling the .presentation of the message in response to a user initiated action subsequent to presentation of the information format of .the message.

7. The electronic device in accordance with claim 5, further comprising control means coupled to the presenting means for selectively enabling the presentation of the information format of the message in response to a user initiated action.

8. The electronic device in accordance with claim 7, further comprising control means coupled to the presenting means for selectively enabling the presentation of the message in response to a user initiated action.

9. A selective call receiver for providing an alert to a user that a message has been received, the message being one of at least a first type and a second type, the electronic device comprising: a receiver for receiving messages; a microprocessor coupled to the receiver for determining whether a message is of the first or the second type; and a display coupled to the microprocessor for displaying the the message and the type of message.

10. The selective call receiver in accordance with claim 9, wherein the microprocessor activates the display to automatically display the type of message prior to displaying the message.

11. The selective call receiver in accordance with claim 9, further comprising: user actuated control means coupled to the microprocessor for selectively enabling the display of the type of message prior to the display of the message.

12. In a selective call receiver for presenting received messages to a user, a method comprising the steps of: (a) receiving a message;

(b) determining the type of message received; and

(c) presenting the type of message.

13. The method in accordance with claim 12, wherein step (c) comprises the step of:

(d) presenting the type of message automatically.

14. The method in accordance with claim 12, wherein step (c) comprises the step of: (d) presenting the type of message in response to a user initiated action.

15. The method in accordance with claim 12, further comprising the step of: (d) presenting the message subsequent to step (c) .

16. The method in accordance with claim 15, wherein step (d) comprises the step of:

(e) presenting, subsequent to step (c) , the message in response to a user initiated action.

17. In a selective call receiver for presenting received messages having first and second information formats to a user, a method comprising the steps of: (a) receiving a message; (b) determining the information format of the message received; and

(c) presenting the information format of the message.

18. The method in accordance with claim 17, further comprising the step of:

(d) selectively enabling the presentation of the message in response to a user initiated action subsequent to presenting the information format of the message.

19. The method in accordance with claim 17 wherein step (c) is selectively enabled in response to a user initiated action.

20. The method in accordance with claim 17, further comprising the step of:

(d) selectively enabling the presentation of the message in response to a user initiated action.