Abstract:
In one embodiment, a method includes presenting a first mode of communication on a screen display of a mobile communication device, receiving a request to present a second mode of communication on the mobile communication device, determining relative priority for the first and second modes of communication, based on said relative priority, formatting a presentation including at least representations of both the first and second modes of communication, and presenting the formatted presentation on the screen display on the mobile communication device.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention generally relates to the sharing of a display screen between multiple modes of communication. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Mobile communication devices such as, for example, smartphones and computer tablets, are typically configurable to provide a variety of modes of communication, including, for example: voice, voice over IP (VOIP), instant messaging (IM), email, SMS text messages, online video conference sessions, social media, screen sharing, etc. 
         [0003]    U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/803,079 (hereinafter “the &#39;079 patent application”) by Stephen Quatrano, entitled “COLLABORATIVE GROUP AND CONTENT MANAGEMENT UTILIZING USER ACTIVATED COLLABORATION THREADS”, filed Mar. 14, 2013, assigned to the common assignees of the present application discloses a system that facilitates the implementation of collaboration threads for access to content associated with such various modes of communication for collaborative groups of participants at client devices. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0004]    The present invention will be understood and appreciated more fully from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the drawings in which: 
           [0005]      FIG. 1  is a simplified pictorial illustration of an exemplary mobile communication device, constructed and operative in accordance with embodiments of the present invention; 
           [0006]      FIG. 2  is a schematic illustration of the exemplary mobile communication device of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0007]      FIG. 3  is a block diagram of a process to performed by the exemplary mobile communication device of  FIG. 1 ; and 
           [0008]      FIGS. 4 and 5  are simplified pictorial illustrations of the exemplary mobile communication device of  FIG. 1 . 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS 
     Overview 
       [0009]    A method includes presenting a first mode of communication on a screen display of a mobile communication device, receiving a request to present a second mode of communication on the mobile communication device, determining relative priority for the first and second modes of communication, based on said relative priority, formatting a presentation including at least representations of both the first and second modes of communication, and presenting the formatted presentation on the screen display on the mobile communication device. 
         [0010]    A UI method includes presenting a shared presentation on a touchscreen, where the shared presentation includes an original foreground presentation and an original background presentation, detecting a twisting motion between two objects moving in contact with the touchscreen, where the two objects are detected switching between the original foreground presentation and the original background presentation, and reformatting the shared presentation by defining the original foreground presentation as a new background presentation, and defining the original background presentation as a new foreground presentation, and presenting the reformatted shared presentation on the touchscreen. 
       DESCRIPTION 
       [0011]    It will be appreciated that mobile communication devices typically comprise integrated display screens which tend to be significantly smaller than non-integrated display screens which are used typically in conjunction with desktop personal computers. For example, current smartphone display screen sizes may typically range from four to six inches, and personal tablet screen sizes may typically range from seven to ten inches. In comparison, non-integrated display screens are typically at least twenty inches or more. 
         [0012]    It will also be appreciated that mobile communication devices may also be computing devices capable of running a variety of non-communication applications. However, mobile communication devices may typically be configured to prioritize communication applications vis-à-vis other types of applications. Specifically, mobile communication devices operating systems tend to prioritize voice and video applications. Such prioritization may typically be expressed in terms of control of the display screen. For example, if a non-prioritized application is running on a mobile communication device, an incoming voice call may typically be displayed on the display screen (i.e. in the foreground), whereas the operating system may move the non-prioritized application to the background. Mobile communication devices may similarly prioritize video conference sessions. 
         [0013]    The inventors of the present invention have realized that such prioritization may not always be convenient for the user. For example, a user may be participating in an IM chat at the time that a video conference session begins. The user may wish to wrap up the IM chat with one last post before fully engaging in the video conference. In some cases, the user may even wish to continue with the IM chat while simultaneously monitoring the video conference. 
         [0014]    Reference is now made to  FIG. 1  which illustrates an exemplary mobile communication device  100 , constructed and operative in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, mobile communication device  100  may support a shared presentation of two different modes of communication. Participant avatars  20  and IM posts  21  may represent an ongoing IM chat. Video feed  30  may represent an ongoing live feed from a video conference session. It will be appreciated that the user of device  100  may continue to participate in the IM chat while also viewing the video conference session. 
         [0015]    It will also be appreciated that the positioning and size of video feed  30  vis-à-vis avatars  20  and posts  21  may be configurable. While the exemplary illustration of  FIG. 1  depicts video feed  30  as a thumbnail sized window “floating” or superimposed on an IM chat screen, other configurations may be possible. For example, video feed  30  may alternatively be allocated the top or bottom half of the display screen. Alternatively, video feed  30  may also be allocated the majority of the display screen. In such a case, the IM chat may be reduced to the bottom of the display screen with only the last IM post  21  visible. 
         [0016]    Reference is now made to  FIG. 2  which illustrates an exemplary mobile communication device  100 , constructed and operative in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. It will be appreciated that mobile communication device  100  may be implemented using any suitable mobile communication device, such as, for example, a smartphone or computer tablet. Device  100  comprises processor  110 , display screen  120 , I/O module  130  and collaboration client  140 . 
         [0017]    Mobile communication device  100  comprises hardware and software components, such as are well-known in the art. Processor  110  may be operative to execute instructions stored in a memory (not shown). It will be appreciated that mobile communication device  100  may comprise more than one processor  110 . For example, one such processor  110  may be a special purpose processor operative to at least execute collaboration client  140  according to a method described herein. In some of the embodiments described hereinbelow, display screen  120  may be a touchscreen operative to detect user interface (UI) gestures input as commands to an operating system and/or application running on device  100 . Such UI gestures are typically entered by one or more of the user&#39;s fingers or suitable implement such as a pen or stylus coming in contact or at least close proximity with display screen. I/O module  130  may be any suitable hardware and/or software component operative to use protocols such as are known in the art to receive and send various modes of communication such as, for example, the modes of communication supported by the system of the &#39;079 patent. 
         [0018]    Collaboration client  140  may be a software or hardware component that may be executed by processor  110  to facilitate multiple modes of communication on device  100  such as, for example, the modes of communication supported by the system of the &#39;079 patent. In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, collaboration client  140  may comprise a multiplicity of mode modules  150 , each of which may be configured to provide one or more different modes of communication. For example, mode module  150 A may provide IM communication; mode module  150 B may provide voice communication; and mode module  150 C may provide video conference communication. 
         [0019]    Alternatively or in addition, the functionalities of some or all of mode modules  150  may be provided via plugins to non-component communication clients. For example, the functionality of mode module  150 A may be provided via a plugin to an IM chat client such as, for example, Cisco Jabber or Microsoft Lync; the functionality of mode module  150 B may be provided via a plugin to a native phone application or Skype; the functionality of mode module  150 C may be provided via a plugin to Cisco WebEx or GoToMeeting from Citrix Systems, Inc. 
         [0020]    It will be appreciated that the configuration of collaboration client  140  may be at least in in part a function of the operating system in use on device  100 . For example, devices  100  using an iOS operating system may not provide full support for multitasking applications. Accordingly, to provide the presentation of the embodiment of  FIG. 1  for a device  100  using iOS, collaboration client  140  may be implemented as a single application with integrated components. However, an Android operating system may support multitasking applications. Accordingly, if device  100  uses Android, collaboration client  140  may also be implemented as a framework application using plugins to communicate with non-integrated components to provide various modes of communication. 
         [0021]    Reference is now made to  FIG. 3  which illustrates a communication mode management process  300  to be performed by collaboration client  140  on device  100 . Collaboration client  140  may provide (step  310 ) an initial mode of communication. For example, collaboration client may provide access to an IM chat such as presented in  FIG. 1 . It will be appreciated that the manner in which step  310  may be performed may be a function of the manner in which collaboration client  150  may be implemented. For example, if, as per the exemplary embodiment of  FIG. 2 , collaboration client  140  may comprise integrated mode modules  150 , the relevant mode module  150  (mode module  150 A as per the hereinabove example) may be executed to provide an IM chat. If collaboration client  140  does not comprise integrated mode modules  150 , a non-integrated component (such as for example, Cisco Jabber) may be invoked to provide similar functionality. 
         [0022]    Collaboration client  140  may receive (step  320 ) a request for a second mode of communication for device  100 . The source of such a request may be, for example, an incoming voice call or video conference session. Alternatively, the request may be initiated from within the ongoing first mode of communication. For example, if the first mode of communication from step  310  is an IM chat, an IM post may comprise a link to a video conference session. Alternatively, or in addition, collaboration client  140  may be configured to enable one or more participants using a given mode of communication to initiate a second mode of communication for the participants. For example, using the exemplary embodiment of  FIG. 2 , mode module  150 A may be configured with a feature to enable a participant of an IM chat to initiate a different mode of communication between the same participants, e.g. to start a video conference using mode module  150 C. 
         [0023]    Collaboration client  140  may determine whether either of the two modes of communication should be presented using a full screen, i.e. using all of the available display area on display screen  120  (step  330 ). It will be appreciated that collaboration client  140  may be configured to enable a user of device  100  to designate default conditions according to which a new communication mode may or may not be presented as a full screen application. For example, collaboration client  140  may be configured such that all new modes of communication (i.e. the second mode of communication requested in step  320 ) be opened at least initially as full screen applications. Alternatively, collaboration client  140  may be configured such that all new modes of communication may not be opened, at least initially, as full screen applications. 
         [0024]    Alternatively, or in addition, different defaults may be assigned to different modes of communication. For example, phone calls or video conference sessions may by default be opened using the full screen, whereas IM chats and email clients may not default to using the full screen when opened as a second mode of communication. Alternatively, or in addition, different modes of communication may be prioritized vis-à-vis other modes of communication. For example, a phone call may default to a full screen unless the first mode of communication is a video conference session. 
         [0025]    If either one of the modes of communication is designated for full screen presentation, collaboration client  140  may reduce (step  335 ) the other, non-prioritized mode of communication, e.g. to an icon or thumbnail. Collaboration client  140  may then present (step  350 ) the conversation screen, i.e. display screen  120  ( FIG. 1 ) as formatted to represent multiple modes of communication. Reference is now made to  FIG. 4  which illustrates a mobile communication device  400 , constructed and operative in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Mobile communication device  400  may be generally similar to mobile communication device  100  as per the embodiment of  FIG. 2 . Full screen video  410  may be an exemplary representation of a prioritized mode of communication as determined in step  330 , such as, for example, a video call or a video conference session. Accordingly, full screen video  410  may represent the incoming video of a video conference session. 
         [0026]    Reduced mode icon  430  may represent the non-prioritized mode of communication, for example, the IM chat of the embodiment of  FIG. 1 . It will be appreciated that the representation of reduced mode icon  430  in the form of a user&#39;s avatar  30  ( FIG. 1 ) may be exemplary; other representations, iconic or otherwise, may also be supported by process  300 . For example, in the context of an exemplary IM chat, the most recent post may be displayed instead of an iconic representation. 
         [0027]    It will be appreciated by one of skill in the art that the prioritized mode of communication, i.e. as per the example hereinabove the video call or video conference session presented as full screen video  410 , may be presented in the foreground of mobile communication device  400 . Accordingly, actions or commands input by the user may by default be associated with the prioritized mode of communication. Similarly, the non-prioritized mode of communication may be presented in the background. Actions or commands input by the user may by default not be associated with the non-prioritized mode of communication. 
         [0028]    It will however be appreciated that collaboration client  140  may be configured to allow some or all of the “reduced”, i.e. non-prioritized, presentation&#39;s functionality to be available. For example, collaboration client  140  may be configurable to enable components such as audio receivers/speakers and/or cameras to be active for a video conference session even while it may nominally be presented in the background. 
         [0029]    It will be appreciated that a user may wish to change the relative prioritization of the modes of communication. Sizing button  420  may be configured to facilitate a user interface (UI) gesture to resize full screen video  410 . For example, the user may touch and drag sizing button horizontally, vertically or diagonally to resize full screen video  410 , thereby effectively opening a window to present at least a representation of the other, non-prioritized, mode of communication. Alternatively, or in addition, the user may resize full screen video  410  may using a pinch-like UI gesture. Alternatively, or in addition, collaboration client  140  may support the use of a popup menu option using methods known to those of skill in the art to request to resize full screen video  410 . In any case, the screen “real estate” made available by the resizing action may be used to present a fuller representation of the second, non-prioritized mode of communication. 
         [0030]    It will be appreciated that as per the exemplary embodiment of  FIG. 1 , collaboration client  140  ( FIG. 2 ) may be configured such that the first mode of communication, i.e. an IM chat, may be prioritized higher than the second mode of communication, i.e. an incoming video conference. In such a case, the exemplary embodiment of  FIG. 1  may represent the result of step  350 , where IM avatars  20  and posts  21  may represent the prioritized mode of communication, and video feed  30  may represent the reduced, non-prioritized mode of communication. 
         [0031]    Reference is now made to  FIG. 5  which illustrates exemplary mobile communication device  500 , constructed and operative in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Priority screen video  510  may represent the prioritized mode of communication, e.g. a video conference session as per the previous exemplary embodiments, and reduced mode icon  530  may represent the non-prioritized mode of communication, e.g. an IM chat as per the previous exemplary embodiments. 
         [0032]    It will be appreciated that as discussed hereinabove mobile communication devices  100 ,  400  and  500  may be configured with a touchscreen such as display screen  120 . Collaboration client  140  may be configured to enable a user to switch priorities between the two associated modes of communication via a “twist and switch” UI gesture. A twist and switch UI gesture may comprise placing fingers  520 A and  520 B on priority screen video  510  and reduced mode icon  530 , and “twisting” them such that finger  520 A moves to reduced mode icon  530  and finger  520 B moves to priority screen video  510 . In such a case, collaboration client  140  may switch the priority and associated formatting between the modes of communication referenced by priority screen video  510  and reduced mode icon  530 . It will be appreciated by one of skill in the art that the depiction of fingers  520  may be exemplary; a twist and switch UI gesture may be input using any suitable object(s) generally in contact or at least close proximity to display screen  120 . For example, a stylus, pen, pencil, etc. may be substituted for one or more of fingers  520 . 
         [0033]    It will also be appreciated that the priority for the non-prioritized mode of communication may be changed via a UI gesture or menu option. For example, if reduced mode icon  530  is double tapped, collaboration client  140  may determine that that the associated mode of communication is to be prioritized and displayed using a full screen representation. 
         [0034]    It will further be appreciated that the location of the elements associated with the modes of communication may be moved by the user. For example, video feed  30  ( FIG. 1 ) may be dragged using known methods to a different location superimposed on top of avatars  20  and/or posts  21 . 
         [0035]    Returning to  FIG. 3 , collaboration client may determine whether or not there has been a request to change the scope (step  360 ) of the respective representations of the modes of communication. For example, if, as described hereinabove, the priority mode of communication was resized or switched using sizing button  420 , a UI gesture, or a menu option. If no change has been requested, process  300  may loop to step  350  and continue to present the modes of communication as previously formatted. 
         [0036]    If there has been a request to change the scope (step  360 ), collaboration client  140  may check whether or not one or both of the modes of communication has ended (step  370 ), i.e. the communication(s) terminated in accordance with methods known in the art. For example, the user may have exited from one of the modes of communication, or the mode of communication was ended by external parties, e.g. a phone call or video conference session was terminated by a second participant. If so, the remaining mode of communication (if there is one) may default to a full screen representation and process  300  may end. If neither mode of communication has ended (step  370 ), control may return to step  330  and processing may proceed as before per whatever changes were detected in step  360 . 
         [0037]    It will be appreciated by those of skill in the art that the order of the steps of process  300  may be exemplary; other processing flows providing generally the same functionality may also be supported by the present invention. 
         [0038]    It will also be appreciated that as discussed hereinabove, the operating system of mobile communication devices  100 ,  400  and  50  may impact on the configuration of collaboration client  140  and/or mode modules  150 . If the operating system does not support multitasking applications, mode modules  150  may be integrated within the framework of a single application such as collaboration client  140  in order to facilitate representation of multiple modes of communication as part of the same presentation. However, if multitasking applications is supported, mode modules  150  may also be implemented as independent applications using plug-ins to communicate with collaboration client  140 . Similarly, some or all of the functionality of collaboration client  140  may be provided by native operating system functionality. 
         [0039]    It will further be appreciated that if multitasking applications is supported, collaboration client  140  may be configured to interact with other applications via the operating systems without the use of plug-ins. For example, process  300  may be implemented to provide reduced or prioritized presentations of modes of communication vis-a-via applications that are not associated with modes of communication per se. For example, an incoming video conference session may be presented as video feed  30  over the presentation of a document reader application or a game being played by a participant in the video conference session. 
         [0040]    It will be appreciated that if multitasking applications is supported, the twist and switch UI gesture described hereinabove may also be used to switch relative priorities between an ongoing mode of communication and an application that is not associated with modes of communication. It will similarly be appreciated that in such an environment where multitasking applications is supported, the twist and switch UI gesture as described hereinabove may also be implemented to switch relative priorities between two applications that are not associated with modes of communication. 
         [0041]    It will also be appreciated that the first and second modes of communication may actually be the same mode of communication. For example, they may both represent video conference session. Depending on the configuration of process  300  and/or subsequent user input, the two video conferences may be presented in a variety of presentations. For example, if they are assigned equal priority, they may be presented sharing display screen  120  in a generally equal manner. Alternatively or in addition, by default greater priority may be assigned to either the first or second instance of a given mode of communication. 
         [0042]    It will also be appreciated that the relative prioritization of the first and second mode of communication may be at least in part a function of whether or not they are associated with the same “conversation” as defined by association with the same collaboration thread as per the &#39;079 patent application. For example, a second mode of communication may be prioritized either higher or lower depending on whether or not it is part of the same conversation as the first mode of communication. For example, if the first mode of communication is an IM chat, collaboration client  140  may be configured to assign a higher priority to an incoming video conference session that is associated with the same conversation, whereas a video conference session from a different conversation may be assigned a lower priority. Alternatively, depending on the configuration of collaboration client  140 , higher priority may be assigned to a second mode of communication that is not associated with the same conversation as the first mode of communication. Alternatively or in addition, the relative prioritization may be at least a function of the specific mode used for the first and/or second mode of communication. 
         [0043]    It will also be appreciated that process  300  may effectively circumvent an operating system&#39;s default prioritization of voice and/or other applications at the expense of a mode of communication currently in use. It will also be appreciated that process  300  may improve the efficiency of mobile communication devices  100 ,  400  and  500  by facilitating generally simultaneous participation in multiple modes of communication in an easy-to-use and streamlined manner. 
         [0044]    It will also be appreciated that process  300  may also be implemented for non-mobile communication devices. For example, process  300  may be implemented generally as described hereinabove for systems using projected UI on a pane of glass. It will similarly be appreciated that process  300  is not limited to implementation on currently sized mobile communication devices. Process  300  may be implemented on any suitable mobile and/or non-mobile communication device that supports the concurrent execution of multiple instances of communication, without regard to the specific size of the device&#39;s associated display area. 
         [0045]    It is appreciated that software components of the present invention may, if desired, be implemented in ROM (read only memory) form. The software components may, generally, be implemented in hardware, if desired, using conventional techniques. It is further appreciated that the software components may be instantiated, for example: as a computer program product or on a tangible medium. In some cases, it may be possible to instantiate the software components as a signal interpretable by an appropriate computer, although such an instantiation may be excluded in certain embodiments of the present invention. 
         [0046]    It is appreciated that various features of the invention which are, for clarity, described in the contexts of separate embodiments may also be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features of the invention which are, for brevity, described in the context of a single embodiment may also be provided separately or in any suitable subcombination. 
         [0047]    It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited by what has been particularly shown and described hereinabove. Rather the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof: