Receiving a communication event

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9930101-B2
Application number	US-201313924415-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 21, 2013
Priority date	Mar 28, 2013
Publication date	Mar 27, 2018
Grant date	Mar 27, 2018

Abstract

Method, node and user terminal for receiving communication events over a communications network. The method comprising: executing a communication client at the user terminal, the client arranged to operate in one of a plurality of modes, filtering parameters associated with each of the modes are stored in storage at the user terminal; the client detecting a mode that the client is operating in and accessing the filtering parameters associated with the mode from the storage; the communication client transmitting the filtering parameters accessed from said storage to a node in the network, the filtering parameters defining one or more types of communication event that are permitted to be received at the terminal from said network when the communication client is operating in said mode; and receiving only said one or more types of communication event at the terminal from said node when the communication client is operating in said mode.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of filtering communication events communicated over a communications network for receipt by a first user terminal, the method comprising:
employing a communication client application by the first user terminal to handle communication events received at the first terminal, the communication client application configured to operate in one of a plurality of operating modes based on a user interface of the communication client being active, wherein each of the plurality of operating modes is associated with respective filtering parameters that are preconfigured by a software provider to permit the communication client application to receive communication events selected by the software provider when operating in the associated operating mode;
storing the filtering parameters associated with each of the plurality of operating modes in storage of the first user terminal;
detecting an operating mode in which the communication client application is operating and accessing the respective filtering parameters associated with the detected operating mode from the storage;
generating a communication for transmission to a node in the communications network by the first user terminal, the node configured as a computing device coupled to the communications network, and the generating including configuring the communication to include the respective filtering parameters associated with the detected operating mode and cause removal from the node of other filtering parameters associated with a previously-detected operating mode of the first user terminal, the previously-detected operating mode based on the user interface of the communication client being inactive, the other filtering parameters associated with the previously-detected operating mode defining zero or more types of communication events that are permitted to be received at the first user terminal, the other filtering parameters defining fewer types of communication events that are permitted to be received at the first user terminal than the filtering parameters that are associated with the determined operating mode;
transmitting the communication over the communications network to the node, the communication enabling the node to filter communication events intended for receipt by the first user terminal based on a determination as to whether the communication events correspond to one or more types of the communication events that the first user terminal is permitted to receive according to the respective filtering parameters associated with the detected operating mode; and
receiving the communication events corresponding to the one or more types of communication events at the first user terminal from the node when the communication client application is operating in the detected operating mode.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of operating modes includes a first operating mode in which the communication client application causes the user interface to be displayed on a display of the first user terminal.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the respective filtering parameters associated with the first operating mode define that each of the types of communication events are permitted to be received at the first user terminal when the communication client application is operating in the first operating mode.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the plurality of operating modes includes a second operating mode in which the communication client application does not cause a user interface to be displayed on the display of the first user terminal.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the respective filtering parameters associated with the second operating mode define that call related communication events are permitted to be received at the first user terminal and other communication events are not permitted to be received at the first user terminal when the communication client application is operating in the second operating mode.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the transmission of the communication to the node is performed responsive to a change of operating mode into the detected operating mode from a previous operating mode.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the change of operating mode into the detected operating mode from the previous operating mode is responsive to the communication client application detecting a user input received by the first user terminal.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein the change of operating mode into the detected operating mode from a previous operating mode is responsive to the communication client application detecting a user input received by the first user terminal that is effective to place the first terminal in a state in which no data is output via a display of the first user terminal.

9. The method of claim 6 , wherein the change of operating mode into the detected operating mode from the previous operating mode is responsive to the communication client application detecting that the first user terminal is in a power saving mode.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the first user terminal is in the power saving mode after a period of inactivity in which no user input is received by the first user terminal.

11. The method of claim 6 , wherein the communication client application includes a timer, and the change of operating mode into the detected operating mode from the previous operating mode is responsive to the communication client application detecting that no user input has been received by the first user terminal in a predetermined time period timed by the timer.

12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising transmitting information to the node that indicates how the node is to handle communication events that the first user terminal is not permitted to receive when the communication client application is operating in the detected operating mode.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the information indicates that the node is to transmit a response to a user terminal when a communication event from the user terminal is received at the node which is not permitted to be received by the first user terminal when the communication client application is operating in the detected operating mode.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the information indicates that the node is to store communication events which are not permitted to be received by the first user terminal when the communication client application is operating in the detected operating mode for future delivery to the first user terminal.

15. The method of claim 12 , wherein the information indicates that the node is to store information relating to the communication events which are not permitted to be received by the first user terminal when the communication client application is operating in the detected operating mode for future delivery to the first user terminal.

16. The method of claim 12 , wherein the information indicates that the node is to ignore communication events which are not permitted to be received by the first user terminal when the communication client application is operating in the detected operating mode.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the types of communication events include: a voice call; a video call; a multi-user voice or video call; an instant message; a multi-user instant message; and a file transfer.

18. A node coupled to a communications network, the node comprising:
a network interface configured to receive a communication via the communications network that includes filtering parameters from a first communication client application of a first

Assignees

• Microsoft Technology Licensing Llc

Inventors

• Laasik Marek
• Macks Andrew
• Liik Devid
• Kaulakis Jonas

Classifications

• H04L67/10 Primary

  in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network (software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46) · CPC title

• H04L65/1069 Primary

  Session establishment or de-establishment · CPC title

• H04L51/36

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H04L51/12

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H04L51/212 Primary

  using filtering or selective blocking · CPC title