Patent Publication Number: US-2009221276-A1

Title: User interface for custom recordable ring tones

Description:
FIELD 
     The present specification relates to electronic devices, and in particular to a method and user interface for generating event-specific ring tones in an electronic device. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Audible reminders in the form of custom ring tones are well known for notifying a user of events such as an incoming call, appointment or task. It is also known to associate different ring tones with different categories of such events (e.g. a first ring tone for calendar reminders, a second ring tone for incoming calls, a third ring tone for incoming emails, etc.). Moreover, it is also known to use recorded voice samples as ring tones. For example, it is known in the art to record and save custom voice samples in a list of ring tones for association with different categories of events. It will be appreciated that specifying multiple event-specific ring tones can lead to user confusion since a user is only capable of memorizing a finite number of different ring tone associations. 
     Consequently, it is desirable to provide a mechanism for a user to specify individual electronic device reminders associated with respective events, without requiring the user to look at the device (e.g. the user may be driving a car, in which case it would be dangerous for the user to look at the device in order to see a reminder description of an event). Moreover, it is desirable to provide custom audible alarms for a multiplicity of events without requiring the user to memorize a corresponding multiplicity of associated ring tones. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The embodiments will be better understood with reference to the following Figures in which like numerals denote like parts and in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a simplified block diagram of a wireless communication system; 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram of components of a portable electronic device; 
         FIGS. 3A-3F  are screen shot representations of a graphical user interface of the portable electronic device in  FIG. 2  for creating and associating an audible reminder for calendar notifications, according to an embodiment; 
         FIGS. 4A-4E  are screen shot representations of a graphical user interface of the portable electronic device in  FIG. 2  for creating and associating an audible reminder for a new calendar appointment event, according to an embodiment; 
         FIGS. 5A and 5B  are screen shot representations of a graphical user interface of the portable electronic device in  FIG. 2  for associating an audible reminder with an incoming call, according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 6 , comprising  FIGS. 6A and 6B , is a flowchart showing a method of creating and associating an audible reminder for calendar notifications, according to the embodiment of  FIGS. 3A-3F ; and 
         FIG. 7 , comprising  FIGS. 7A and 7B , is a flowchart showing a method of creating and associating an audible reminder for a new calendar appointment, according to the embodiment of  FIGS. 4A-4E . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In general, a method and user interface are set forth for associating event-specific audio recordings with specific events on an electronic device, such as a portable phone, smart phone, PDA, etc. 
     According to one aspect, there is provided a method of operating an electronic device, comprising: displaying a user interface window on said electronic device for associating an audible notification with a specific event; activating a record function from said user interface window for recording an audio file; and saving said audio file as said audible notification associated with said specific event. 
     According to another aspect, there is provided a user interface for an electronic device, comprising: an input device; a first window display generated responsive to a first input to said input device for associating an audible notification with a specific event on said electronic device; a second window display generated responsive to a second input to said input device for activating a record function to record an audio file; and a third window display generated responsive to a third input to said input device for saving said audio file as said audible notification associated with said specific event. 
       FIG. 1  is a simplified block diagram of an exemplary communication system  10  for a portable electronic device  12 . According to the illustrated embodiment, the portable electronic device  12  is operable to effect communications over a radio communications channel and communicates with a base station (not shown) while located within a coverage area that is defined by the base station. However, the portable electronic device  12  is not limited to a device capable of effecting communications. Indeed, the exemplary method of creating and associating audible reminders set forth in greater detail below, may advantageously be implemented within a multitude of devices, some of which are capable of communications and others of which are not (e.g. PDAs, mobile phones, smart telephones, laptop computers, etc.). 
     In the illustrated embodiment, the base station (not shown) is part of a wireless network that is in communication with the Internet  14 . Data is delivered to the portable electronic device  12  via wireless transmission from the base station. Similarly, data is sent from the portable electronic device  12  via wireless transmission to the base station. 
     It will be appreciated that the portable electronic device  12  of  FIG. 1  is movable within a coverage area of the base stations and can be moved to coverage areas defined by other base stations. Further, as will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, wireless networks include GSM/GPRS, CDPD, TDMA, iDEN, Mobitex, DataTAC networks, EDGE, EVDO or UMTS and broadband networks such as Bluetooth and variants of 802.11. 
     A server  18  handles wireless client requests from the portable electronic device  12 . A firewall, or proxy server,  16 , is provided between the server  18  and the Internet  14 . The server  18  further operates as a Mail Server, which communicates with an email client of the portable electronic device  12  to allow a user to send and receive email messages. 
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram showing certain components within an exemplary embodiment of the portable electronic device  12 . The portable electronic device  12  includes a processor  20  connected to a read-only-memory (ROM)  21  that contains a plurality of applications executable by the processor  20  for enabling each portable electronic device  12  to perform certain functions including, for example, Personal Identification Number (PIN) message functions, Short Message Service (SMS) message functions, address book and calendaring functions, camera functions, and cellular telephone functions. More particularly, processor  20  may execute applications within ROM  21  for notifying the user of events such as incoming call and/or emails, appointments, tasks, etc., as hereinbefore described. The processor  20  is also connected to a random access memory unit (RAM)  22  and a persistent storage device  23  to facilitate various non-volatile storage functions of the portable electronic device  12 . The processor  20  receives input from one or more input devices, including a keypad  24 A and trackball  24 B. The processor  20  outputs to one or more output devices, including a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) display  25 . A microphone  26  and phone speaker  27  are connected to the processor  20  for cellular telephone functions. The processor  20  is also connected to a modem and radio device  28 . The modem and radio device  28  is used to connect to wireless networks and transmit and receive voice and data communications through an antenna  29 . A camera  30  provides functionality for taking pictures that can be viewed on display  25 , sent to other users via wireless email, saved to persistent storage  23  for later viewing, etc. 
     In the context of this specification and the exemplary embodiment illustrated in the drawings, “user interface” comprises an input device (such as keypad  24 A, trackball  24 B, etc.) and at least one graphical window displayed via an output device (such as display  25 ). 
     According to a first aspect of this detailed description, as shown in  FIGS. 3A-3F  and as further depicted in  FIGS. 6A and 6B , portable electronic device  12  may be used to create and associate a default audible notification for calendar events. 
     With reference to  FIG. 6A , in an idle or default state for device  12 , a home screen window (not shown) is displayed ( 60 ) from which a user may launch various applications by selecting associated icons on display  25 . Upon making a selection ( 61 ), a determination is made ( 62 ) as to whether the user has selected to launch a Notifications application. If not, the device  12  launches another application associated with the user selected icon ( 63 ). If the user has selected to launch the Notifications application, a window ( 33 ) is displayed ( 64 ) as shown in  FIG. 3A . 
     From this window, the user may select from among a plurality of device applications (e.g. Calendar, Messages, Phone, etc.) within ROM  21  and executable by processor  20 , with which event notifications may be customized. In response to a further user selection ( 65 ) a determination is made ( 66 ) as to whether the user has selected to expand the Calendar Notifications profile or take some other specified action ( 67 ), such as expanding the Messages or Phone profiles, etc. 
     Once the Calendar Notifications profile has been expanded, the user may select a Ringtone field (a “Yes” at  69 ) from the expanded profile. In response, as shown in  FIG. 3B , a “Record” function is presented ( 71 ) from a pop-up menu ( 35 ) for selecting an existing ring tone (e.g. “Notifier_Entrance”) or recording a custom audio sample ( 72 ) as a notification for all calendar events ( FIG. 6B ). Otherwise, another selected function is performed ( 70 ). 
     As shown in  FIG. 3C , upon completing the recorded audio sample the user may press a “Stop” button via a window ( 37 ) and then “Save” the recording with a user selected file name ( 73 ) via further windows ( 39  and  41 ) as shown in  FIGS. 3D and 3E . The display then returns to the expanded Calendar Notifications screen ( FIG. 3F ), where the audio file name (e.g. “Whatever”) is indicated in the “Ringtone:” field of a window ( 43 ). 
     According to a second aspect of this detailed description, as shown in  FIGS. 4A-4E  and as further depicted in  FIGS. 7A and 7B , portable electronic device  12  may also be used to create and associate an audible notification for a specific calendar event notification (e.g. “Pick up pizza” at 5:15 PM on Wed, Mar. 21, 2007), as an alternative, for example, to the default notification discussed above in connection with  FIGS. 3A-3F  and  FIGS. 6A and 6B . 
     With reference to  FIG. 7A , in an idle or default state for device  12 , a home screen (not shown) is displayed ( 74 ) from which a user may launch various applications by selecting associated icons on display  25 . Upon making a selection ( 75 ), a determination is made ( 76 ) as to whether the user has selected to launch the Calendar application. If not, the device  12  launches another application associated with the user selected icon ( 77 ). If the user has selected to launch the Calendar application, a conventional calendar user interface is displayed (not shown), from which the user may select among a plurality of actions (e.g. Open Appointment, New Appointment, etc.) In response to such a user selection ( 79 ), a determination is made ( 80 ) as to whether the user has selected to make a New Appointment or take some other specified action ( 81 ), such as cancelling out of the Calendar application, etc. 
     In response to user selection to make a New Appointment, the user may expand the Ringtone label ( FIG. 4A ) resulting in an expanded display ( FIG. 4B ), as discussed above. From within the expanded display, the user may select a Ringtone field (a “Yes” at  83 ) of the expanded display in response to which a “Record” function is presented ( 85 ) from a pop-up menu window ( 45 ), as shown in  FIG. 4C , for selecting an existing ring tone (e.g. “Notifier_Entrance”) or recording a custom audio sample ( 86 ) as a notification for the new calendar Appointment. For example, the user may record a spoken description of the event, such as “Pick Up Pizza”, using his/her own voice. Otherwise, another selected function is performed ( 84 ). 
     As shown in  FIG. 4D , upon completing the recorded audio sample the user may “Save” the recording, with a user selected file name ( 87 ), via a further pop-up menu window ( 51 ). The display then returns to the expanded Appointment screen ( FIG. 4E ), where the audio file name is indicated in the “Ringtone:” field and the page header has been updated to “Appointment Details”. 
     A person of ordinary skill in the art will understand that a plurality of such customized ring tones may be recorded for providing informative notifications of multiple events according to the methodology and exemplary user interfaces set forth above. For example, as shown in  FIGS. 5A and 5B , a user may record customized audio samples to be used as notifications for incoming calls from work or from home, based on CLID data associated with the incoming calls. In  FIG. 5B , a custom ring tone is identified by the file name “Call from Home 2” which can, for example, be an audio sample of the user, announcing “Call from home”, or an audio sample of a party associated with the event, such as the user&#39;s spouse or partner, announcing “Honey, its me!”. Likewise, an email from an important client may be identified by a custom ring tone in the user&#39;s voice, such as “Email from Bob at XYZ Co.” 
     Specific embodiments have been shown and described herein. However, modifications and variations may occur to those skilled in the art. For example, as discussed above, although the exemplary embodiment has been described in terms of implementation on a portable handheld electronic device, the principles set forth herein may be applied to other devices such as desktop computers, etc. All such modifications and variations are believed to be within the sphere and scope of the present embodiment.