Patent Description:
In order to improve user experience during the use of terminals by users, the terminal manufacturer upgrades the terminal from time to time, and thus some new functions that are beneficial to the user may be added. <CIT> discloses an intelligent interaction method and apparatus to define and refine queries using conversational prompts. <CIT> discloses an interception program used to monitor and intercept a notification bar message containing a malicious advertisement plug-in or a malicious advertisement feature.

The present disclosure generally relates to the field of terminal technologies, and more specifically, to a function prompting method, a function prompting apparatus, a mobile terminal, and a storage medium.

According to a first aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a function prompting as defined in claim <NUM>.

In some embodiments, the triggering a predetermined first application invoking notification bar to push the new function includes:
acquiring description information of the new function; configuring the description information of the new function into the first application; and triggering the first application invoking notification bar to push a first application configured with description information of the new function.

In some examples, the acquiring a predetermined condition to be met for prompting the new function includes: calling a predetermined second application; and identifying, through the second application, information of triggering push of the new function.

In some embodiments, the acquiring description information of the new function includes: performing global broadcast of the description information of the new function according to a predetermined protocol through the second application; and receiving global broadcast of the second application through the first application, and parsing the global broadcast to obtain the description information of the new function.

In some embodiments, the function prompting method further includes: jumping to a page link corresponding to the new function when an instruction to display the new function is received, based on the new function pushed in a notification bar.

In some embodiments, the description information of the new function includes: a title and a summary of the new function.

According to a second aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a function prompting apparatus as defined in claim <NUM>.

In some embodiments, the acquiring component is further configured to: acquire description information of the new function; and the processing component triggers a predetermined first application invoking notification bar to push the new function by: configuring the description information of the new function into the first application; and triggering the first application invoking notification bar to push a first application configured with the description information of the new function.

In some embodiments, the acquiring component acquires a predetermined condition to be met for prompting the new function by: calling a predetermined second application; and identifying, through the second application, information of triggering push of the new function.

In some embodiments, the acquiring component acquires description information of the new function by: performing global broadcast of the description information of the new function according to a predetermined protocol, through the second application; and receiving global broadcast of the second application through the first application, and parsing the global broadcast to obtain description information of the new function.

In some embodiments, the processing component is further configured to: jump to a page link corresponding to the new function when an instruction to display the new function is received, based on the new function pushed in a notification bar.

According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a function prompting apparatus, the function prompting apparatus includes: a memory configured to store instructions; and a processor configured to invoke instructions to execute the function prompting method according to the above-described first aspect or any one example of the first aspect.

According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, computer-executable instructions are stored in the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and when the computer-executable instructions are executed by a processor, the function prompting method according to the above-described first aspect or any one example of the first aspect is executed.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the disclosure.

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this disclosure, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure.

Description will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

At present, it often happens that new functions are put on hold and not used.

Various embodiments of the present disclosure can address how to guide users to use the new functions and improve the user's experience on the terminal.

Various embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to application scenarios of prompting functions on the terminal. In the exemplary embodiments described below, the terminal is also referred to as an smart terminal device in some cases, wherein the terminal can be a mobile terminal, and can also be referred to as user equipment (UE), a mobile station (MS), and the like. The terminal is a device for providing voice and/or data connection to the user, or a chip provided in the device, for example, a hand-held device with a wireless connection function, a vehicle-mounted device, and the like. For example, the terminal can include: mobile phones, tablet computers, notebook computers, handheld computers, mobile internet devices MID), wearable devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in unmanned driving, wireless terminals in remote surgery, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, and wireless terminals in smart homes, and the like.

<FIG> is a flowchart illustrating a function prompting method according to some embodiments, and as shown in <FIG>, the function prompting method is used in a terminal and includes the following steps.

In step S11, a new function to be prompted in the terminal is acquired, and a predetermined condition to be met for prompting the new function is acquired.

In the present disclosure, the new function that needs to be prompted in the terminal can be a new application installed on the terminal by the terminal manufacturer, and can also be a function added newly in the application installed on the terminal by the terminal manufacturer.

The predetermined condition to be met for prompting the new function involved in the disclosure may be a condition that can trigger the push of the new function. The predetermined condition that needs to be met for prompting the new function corresponds to the new function. In other words, each new function corresponds to the predetermined condition that needs to be met for prompting the new function.

In step S12, a predetermined first application invoking notification bar is triggered to push the new function when the predetermined condition is met.

In order to ensure the uniformity and maintainability of the push logic when new functions are pushed, predetermined applications can be used to invoke the notification bar uniformly through an invoking entrance of the predetermined applications to push the new functions, so as to facilitate the subsequent management of the new functions and the capacity expansion of the new functions. In the present disclosure, for convenience of description, an application that invokes a notification bar to push a new function is referred to as a first application.

According to the invention, after acquiring the new function to be prompted in the terminal and acquiring the predetermined condition to be met for prompting the new function, it is determined whether the current terminal meets the predetermined condition, and when the predetermined condition is met, the predetermined first application invoking notification bar is triggered to push the new function.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a new function to be prompted in the terminal is acquired and a predetermined condition to be met for prompting the new function is acquired, and the push of the new function is triggered by satisfying the preset conditions required to prompt the new function, such that the new function required by the user can be pushed accurately and timely, and then the user can be well guided to use the new functions and the user experience is improved.

In step S21, a new function to be prompted in the terminal is acquired, and a predetermined condition to be met for prompting the new function is acquired.

In step S22, description information of the new function is acquired and the description information of the new function is configured into the first application when the predetermined condition is met.

In the present disclosure, the description information of the new function includes but is not limited to the information of the title of the new function and the summary of the new function.

In the present disclosure, in order to enable the first application to undertake the push of various types of new functions, and to facilitate the subsequent maintenance and expansion of the new functions, the application that introduces the functions of the terminal installed on the terminal can be used, and the new function is pushed through the application that introduces the functions of the terminal.

Herein, when the application that introduces the functions of the terminal is used to push the new function, the description information of the new function needs to be configured into the application that introduces the functions of the terminal, that is, the first application. After the description information of the new function is configured into the first application, the first application invoking notification bar can be triggered to push the first application configured with the description information of the new function. Therefore, after acquiring the new functions to be prompted in the terminal and acquiring the predetermined condition to be met for prompting the new function, it is determined whether the current terminal meets the predetermined condition, and when the predetermined condition is met, the description information of the pushed new function is obtained, and the description information of the new function is configured into the first application.

For example, the new function to be prompted in the terminal is a translation function, and the predetermined condition to be met for prompting the new function is that a time zone of the terminal changes. As such, the technical solutions based on the embodiments of the present disclosure will detect the time zone of the terminal, and acquire the description information of the translation function in the terminal when it is determined that the time zone of the terminal changes, and configure the description information of the translation function into the first application in a static registration manner.

In step S23, the first application invoking notification bar is triggered to push a first application configured with description information of the new function.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, after configuring the description information of the new function into the first application, the first application invoking notification bar can be triggered to push the first application configured with the description information of the new function.

For example, in the example where the above-described new function is the translation function, after the description information of the translation function is configured into the first application in a static registration manner, the first application can be triggered, through the first application invoking notification bar, to push the first application configured with the description information of the new function.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the new function to be prompted in the terminal is acquired and the predetermined condition to be met for prompting the new function is acquired, and when the predetermined condition is met, the uniformity and maintainability of the push logic of the new function can be ensured by acquiring the description information of the new function, and configuring the description information of the new function into the first application. Through pushing first application configured with the description information of the new function by triggering the first application invoking notification bar, the new functions required by the user can be pushed accurately and timely.

Hereinafter, detailed description will be given by taking the terminal being a mobile phone as an example in combination with practical applications.

In step S31, a new function to be prompted in the terminal is acquired, and a predetermined second application is invoked and information of triggering the push of the new function is identified through the second application.

At present, the terminal manufacturer may add some new applications not periodically while upgrading and optimizing terminals. When the predetermined condition to be met for prompting the new application is established, because the new application has not been used, that is, the new application has not be authorized by the user, the new application cannot identify that the predetermined condition for prompting the new application is met, therefore, in an implementation, a second application that can identify and trigger the push of the new application information needs to be invoked, and the second application is used to identify and trigger the push of the new application information. In the present disclosure, in order to distinguish from the first application, the application that identifies and triggers the push of the new application information is referred to as a second application.

In the present disclosure, the predetermined condition to be met for prompting the new function can be that the predetermined second application has identified the information of triggering the push of the new function. For example, the new function to be prompted in the terminal is a smart travel application, and the predetermined condition to be met for prompting the new function is that a short message application has identified that the short message contains travel-related short message.

In step S32, global broadcast of description information of the new function is performed according to a predetermined protocol, through the second application, when the second application has identified the information of triggering the push of the new function, the global broadcast of the second application is received through the first application, the global broadcast is parsed to obtain the description information of the new function, and the description information of the new function is configured into the first application.

In an implementation, in order to ensure that the first application can receive the description information of the new function, the second application performs the global broadcast of description information of the new function according to the predetermined protocol when the second application has identified the information of triggering the push of the new function.

Herein, the descriptive information of the new function of the global broadcast can be assembled in the form of parameters and the descriptive information of the new function is basically configured. The descriptive information of the new functions assembled in the form of parameters and the basic configuration can be shown in Table <NUM>, as an example.

It can be seen from Table <NUM> that the description information of the new function assembled in the form of parameters and configured basically can include a title of the new function, a summary of the new function, a way to open the link to the new function, and an identifier of the new function.

Herein, in order to ensure that the first application receives the description information of the new function in time, the priority of the global broadcast of the description information of the new function is raised to the highest, for example, it can be set as android:priority="<NUM>", such that the priority of the global broadcast of the description information of the new function is raised to the highest. In addition, in order for the first application to accurately receive the global broadcast of pushing the new function, when the second application performs the global broadcast of the description information of the new function, the identifier used for the notification bar scene may also be broadcast globally,
for example, action:com. MISERVICE NOTIFICATION.

After receiving the global broadcast of the second application, the first application parses the global broadcast, that is, parses the parameters of the description information of the new function in the global broadcast to obtain the description information of the new function, and configures the description information of the new function into the first application.

In an implementation, since the service and feedback applications in the mobile phone undertake the function introduction part in the mobile phone, the first application can be, for example, a service and feedback application, and a notification bar is invoked through the service and feedback application to push the new function.

In the example where the new function is the smart travel application, the predetermined condition to be met for prompting the new function is that the short message application has identified that the short message contains travel-related short message. The technical solution based on the embodiments of the present disclosure will invoke the short message application, and when the type of the short message is identified by the short message application that the short message contains travel-related short messages, the global broadcast of the description information of the smart travel application is performed according to a predetermined protocol, through the short message application, the global broadcast of the short message application is received through the service and feedback application, the global broadcast is parsed to obtain the description information of the smart travel application, and the description information of the smart travel application is configured into the service and feedback application.

In step S33, the first application invoking notification bar is triggered to push a first application configured with description information of the new function.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, a new function to be prompted in the terminal is acquired, and a predetermined second application is invoked to identify the information of triggering the push of the new function through the second application. When the second application has identified the information of triggering the push of the new function, the second application performs global broadcast of the description information of the new function according to a predetermined protocol, thereby enabling the first application to receive the description information of the new function in time.

In step S41, a new function to be prompted in the terminal is acquired, and a predetermined condition to be met for prompting the new function is acquired.

In step S42, a predetermined first application invoking notification bar is triggered to push the new function when the predetermined condition is met.

In step S43, a page link corresponding to the new function is jumped to when an instruction to display the new function is received based on the new function pushed in a notification bar.

In the present disclosure, a preliminary guide to the new function is realized based on the new function pushed in the notification bar, and on the basis of the preliminary display of the new function, when an instruction to display a new function is received, jumping to the page link corresponding to the new function is performed.

Herein, the jumping to a page link corresponding to the new function can include, for example, the display page being scrollable or non-scrollable after opening the link, and whether or not being necessary to return to the home page of the first application. After entering the specific function page according to the jump way of the new function, and when displaying the specific function page, since it is possible to jump to detail page without the consent of the China Testing Alliance (CTA), at this time, it is required to perform a specific logical processing after receiving the consent of the CTA according to the displayed CTA statement pop-up window, otherwise exit directly. After confirming the acceptance of the declaration of consent to the CTA pop-up window, according to the new function identifier, it will be optimized to be queried and displayed from the local database. When the query fails or there is no corresponding record, an interface request should be made to the server. When there is a corresponding record, it will be displayed. When the query fails, it will display a failure state, and when there is no corresponding record, it will directly exit the current page.

The triggering of the notification bar is only a preliminary guide, eventually, it is required to click on the notification bar to enter the corresponding function display as required to provide the user with a convenient chain operation, thereby improving the user experience.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, based on the new function pushed in the notification bar, the user can easily jump to the page link corresponding to the new function when an instruction to display the new function is received, which is convenient for the user to operate.

Based on the similar inventive concept, the present disclosure further provides a function prompting apparatus. It can be understood that, in order to realize the above-mentioned functions, the function prompting apparatus provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure includes hardware structures and/or software modules corresponding to various functions. With reference to the units and algorithm steps of the examples disclosed in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a certain function is executed by hardware or in a form that computer software drives hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. A person skilled in the art may use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to exceed the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

<FIG> is a block diagram <NUM> illustrating a function prompting apparatus according to some embodiments. Referring to <FIG>, the function prompting apparatus includes an acquiring component <NUM> and a processing component <NUM>.

The acquiring component <NUM> is configured to acquire a new function to be prompted in the terminal, and to acquire a predetermined condition to be met for prompting the new function.

The processing component <NUM> is configured to trigger a predetermined first application invoking notification bar to push the new function when the predetermined condition is met.

In some embodiments, the acquiring component <NUM> is further configured to acquire description information of the new function; and the processing component <NUM> triggers the predetermined first application invoking notification bar to push the new function in the following manner: configuring the description information of the new function into the first application; and triggering the first application invoking notification bar to push a first application configured with the description information of the new function.

In some embodiments, the acquiring component <NUM> acquires a predetermined condition to be met for prompting the new function in the following manner: calling a predetermined second application; and identifying information of triggering the push of the new function through the second application.

In some embodiments, the acquiring component <NUM> acquires the description information of the new function in the following manner: performing global broadcast of the description information of the new function according to a predetermined protocol through the second application; and receiving global broadcast of the second application through the first application, and parsing the global broadcast to obtain description information of the new function.

In some embodiments, the processing component <NUM> is further configured to: jump to a page link corresponding to the new function when an instruction to display the new function is received based on the new function pushed in a notification bar.

With respect to the apparatuses in the above embodiments, the specific ways for performing operations for individual modules therein have been described in detail in the embodiments regarding the methods, which will not be elaborated herein.

<FIG> is a block diagram illustrating a device <NUM> for function prompting, according to some embodiments. For example, the device <NUM> can be a mobile phone, a computer, a digital broadcast terminal, a messaging device, a gaming console, a tablet, a medical device, exercise equipment, a personal digital assistant, and the like.

The processing component <NUM> may include one or more processors <NUM> to execute instructions to implement all or part of the steps in the above described methods.

Examples of such data include instructions for any applications or methods operated on the device <NUM>, contact data, phonebook data, messages, pictures, videos, etc. The memory <NUM> may be implemented by using any type of volatile or non-volatile memory devices, or a combination thereof, such as a static random access memory (SRAM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), a read-only memory (ROM), a magnetic memory, a flash memory, a magnetic or optical disk.

The power component <NUM> supplies power to various components of the device <NUM>.

The multimedia component <NUM> includes a screen providing an output interface between the device <NUM> and a user. In some embodiments, an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display can be adopted.

If the screen includes the touch panel, the screen can be implemented as a touch screen to receive input signals from the user. The touch sensors can not only sense a boundary of a touch or swipe action, but also sense a period of time and a pressure associated with the touch or swipe action. The front camera and/or the rear camera can receive external multimedia data while the device <NUM> is in an operation mode, such as a photographing mode or a video mode.

The audio component <NUM> is configured to output and/or input audio signals. For example, the audio component <NUM> includes a microphone ("MIC") configured to receive an external audio signal when the device <NUM> is in an operation mode, such as a call mode, a recording mode, and a voice recognition mode. The received audio signal can be further stored in the memory <NUM> or transmitted via the communication component <NUM>. In some embodiments, the audio component <NUM> further includes a speaker to output audio signals.

For instance, the sensor component <NUM> can detect an on/off status of the device <NUM>, relative positioning of components, e.g., the display and a keypad, of the device <NUM>, the sensor component <NUM> can also detect a change in position of the device <NUM> or one component of the device <NUM>, a presence or absence of user contact with the device <NUM>, an orientation or an acceleration/deceleration of the device <NUM>, and a change in temperature of the device <NUM>. In some embodiments, the sensor component <NUM> can also include an accelerometer sensor, a gyroscope sensor, a magnetic sensor, a pressure sensor, or a temperature sensor.

The communication component <NUM> is configured to facilitate wired or wireless communication between the device <NUM> and other devices. The device <NUM> can access a wireless network based on a communication standard, such as Wi-Fi, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, or a combination thereof. In one exemplary embodiment, the communication component <NUM> receives a broadcast signal or broadcast associated new functions from an external broadcast management system via a broadcast channel. In one exemplary embodiment, the communication component <NUM> further includes a near field communication (NFC) module to facilitate short-range communications. For example, the NFC module can be implemented based on a radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, an infrared data association (IrDA) technology, an ultra-wideband (UWB) technology, a Bluetooth (BT) technology, and other technologies.

In some embodiments, the device <NUM> may be implemented with one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), controllers, micro-controllers, microprocessors, or other electronic components, for performing the above described methods.

In some embodiments, there is also provided a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including instructions, such as the memory <NUM> including the instructions executable by the processor <NUM> in the device <NUM>, for performing the above-described methods. For example, the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium can be a ROM, a random access memory (RAM), a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disc, an optical data storage device, and the like.

Various embodiments of the present disclosure can have one or more of the following advantages. A new function to be prompted in the terminal is acquired and a predetermined condition to be met for prompting the new function is acquired, and triggering the push of the new function is triggered by meeting the predetermined condition required to prompt the new function, such that the new function required by the user can be pushed accurately and timely, and then the user can be well guided to use the new functions and the user experience is improved.

The various device components, modules, units, blocks, or portions may have modular configurations, or are composed of discrete components, but nonetheless can be referred to as "modules" in general. In other words, the "components," modules," "blocks," "portions," or "units" referred to herein may or may not be in modular forms, and these phrases may be interchangeably used.

In the present disclosure, the terms "installed," "connected," "coupled," "fixed" and the like shall be understood broadly, and can be either a fixed connection or a detachable connection, or integrated, unless otherwise explicitly defined. These terms can refer to mechanical or electrical connections, or both. Such connections can be direct connections or indirect connections through an intermediate medium. These terms can also refer to the internal connections or the interactions between elements. The specific meanings of the above terms in the present disclosure can be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art on a case-by-case basis.

In the description of the present disclosure, the terms "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "example," "specific example," or "some examples," and the like can indicate a specific feature described in connection with the embodiment or example, a structure, a material or feature included in at least one embodiment or example. In the present disclosure, the schematic representation of the above terms is not necessarily directed to the same embodiment or example.

Various modifications of, and equivalent acts corresponding to, the disclosed aspects of the example embodiments, in addition to those described above, can be made by a person of ordinary skill in the art, having the benefit of the present disclosure, without departing from the scope of the disclosure defined in the following claims, the scope of which is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass such modifications and equivalent structures.

It should be understood that "a plurality" or "multiple" as referred to herein means two or more. "And/or," describing the association relationship of the associated objects, indicates that there may be three relationships, for example, A and/or B may indicate that there are three cases where A exists separately, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists separately. The character "/" generally indicates that the contextual objects are in an "or" relationship.

In the present disclosure, a first element being "on" a second element may indicate direct contact between the first and second elements, without contact, or indirect geometrical relationship through one or more intermediate media or layers, unless otherwise explicitly stated and defined. Similarly, a first element being "under," "underneath" or "beneath" a second element may indicate direct contact between the first and second elements, without contact, or indirect geometrical relationship through one or more intermediate media or layers, unless otherwise explicitly stated and defined.

Claim 1:
A function prompting method, applied to a terminal, the method comprising:
acquiring (S11) a new function, required by a user, to be prompted in the terminal, and acquiring (S11) a predetermined condition to be met for prompting the new function; and
triggering (S12) a predetermined first application when the predetermined condition is met, and invoking a notification bar uniformly through an invoking entrance of the predetermined first application to push the new function to the user,
wherein the new function is some kind of new functionality being made available to the user.