Granted Patent B2

US 8,103,252 · App. 13/004,580 · Granted Jan 24, 2012

Abstract

Claims (65)

1. A method of identifying instant messaging conversations on a mobile device, said method comprising:

providing an interface for exchanging instant messages for a thread comprising an instant messaging conversation, said thread comprising a plurality of said instant messages in chronological order;

providing an option to enable a user to define subjects for portions of said thread;

upon receiving a first input entering a first subject, embedding said first subject into said thread at a first point of creation by displaying said first subject at a first current point in said thread along with said plurality of instant messages without starting a new thread; and

upon receiving a second input entering a second subject, embedding said second subject into said thread at a second point of creation by displaying said second subject at a second current point in said thread along with said plurality of instant messages without starting a new thread to thereby distinguish between multiple topics covered during the same conversation by identifying different portions of said thread using said first and second subjects while maintaining previous conversation history.

2. The method according to claim 1 comprising associating said subjects with said instant messaging conversation on said mobile device to enable said user to search for at least one of content in said instant messaging session and a desired instant messaging conversation according to said subjects.

3. The method according to claim 1 wherein said instant message comprises a header and a body, said header including a subject field for specifying said subjects, said body containing text associated with said instant message.

4. The method according to claim 1 comprising providing a first message identifying said first subject to one or more others in said instant messaging session.

5. The method according to claim 4 , wherein each subject is transmitted in said thread as a separate instant message having an identifier for distinguishing said separate instant message as relating to said subject to enable a receiving mobile device to display said subject with said instant messaging conversation.

6. The method according to claim 4 comprising enabling said others to accept, ignore or modify said first subject.

7. The method according to claim 4 comprising:

at least one of said others receiving said message identifying said first subject; and

displaying said first subject with a corresponding portion of said thread on a corresponding mobile device.

8. The method according to claim 7 comprising enabling said at least one of said others to accept, ignore or modify said first subject.

9. The method according to claim 1 comprising providing a second message to others in said instant messaging session identifying said second subject.

10. The method according to claim 1 using a personal identification number (PIN) based instant messaging protocol.

11. The method according to claim 1 in which each of the first and second subjects is displayed as a new message.

12. The method according to claim 11 further comprising transmitting said first and second subjects to a recipient mobile device by including said first and second subjects in first and second instant messages respectively.

13. The method according to claim 11 wherein said new messages have a unique appearance with respect to the plurality of instant messages.

14. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:

displaying said first and second subjects in a list; and

upon receiving a third input selecting a particular subject from said list, displaying at least a portion of said thread corresponding to said particular subject.

15. A non-transistory computer program product comprising computer executable instructions for causing a processor on a mobile device to:

provide an interface for exchanging instant messages for a thread comprising an instant messaging conversation, said thread comprising a plurality of said instant messages in chronological order;

provide an option to enable a user to define subjects for portions of said thread;

upon receiving a first input entering a first subject, embed said first subject into said thread at a first point of creation by displaying said first subject at a first current point in said thread along with said plurality of instant messages without starting a new thread; and

upon receiving a second input entering a second subject, embed said second subject into said thread at a second point of creation by displaying said second subject at a second current point in said thread along with said plurality of instant messages without starting a new thread to thereby distinguish between multiple topics covered during the same conversation by identifying different portions of said thread using said first and second subjects while maintaining previous conversation history.

16. A mobile device comprising:

a display;

a memory;

an input mechanism; and

a processor electrically coupled with the display, the memory and the input mechanism, the processor operable to:

provide an interface for exchanging instant messages for a thread comprising an instant messaging conversation, said thread comprising a plurality of said instant messages in chronological order;

provide an option to enable a user to define subjects for portions of said thread;

upon receiving a first input entering a first subject, embed said first subject into said thread at a first point of creation by displaying said first subject at a first current point in said thread along with said plurality of instant messages without starting a new thread; and

upon receiving a second input entering a second subject, embed said second subject into said thread at a second point of creation by displaying said second subject at a second current point in said thread along with said plurality of instant messages without starting a new thread to thereby distinguish between multiple topics covered during the same conversation by identifying different portions of said thread using said first and second subjects while maintaining previous conversation history.

17. A method of updating instant messaging subjects in an instant messaging conversation on a mobile device, said method comprising:

receiving a message at the mobile device from a correspondent in an existing thread comprising said instant messaging conversation with said correspondent, said thread comprising a plurality of instant messages in chronological order, said message identifying a first subject for a first portion of said thread;

embedding said first subject into said thread at a first point of creation by displaying said first subject at a first current point in said thread along with the plurality of instant messages without starting a new thread;

receiving a second message identifying a second subject; and

embedding said second subject into said thread at a second point of creation by displaying said second subject at a second current point in said thread along with the plurality of instant messages without starting a new thread to thereby distinguish between multiple topics covered during the same conversation by identifying different portions of said thread using said first and second subjects while maintaining previous conversation history.

18. The method according to claim 17 comprising enabling the user of the mobile device to accept, ignore or modify said first subject.

19. The method according to claim 17 comprising enabling the user of the mobile device to accept, ignore or modify said second subject.

20. The method according to claim 17 wherein each subject is transmitted in said instant messaging session as a separate instant message having an identifier for distinguishing said separate instant message as relating to said subject to enable said mobile device to display said first subject and said second subject within said thread at said current point.

21. The method according to claim 20 wherein said existing instant messaging protocol is a personal identification number (PIN) based protocol.

22. The method according to claim 17 in which each of the first and second subjects is displayed as a new message.

23. The method according to claim 22 further comprising transmitting said first and second subjects to a recipient mobile device by including said first and second subjects in first and second instant messages respectively.

24. The method according to claim 22 wherein said new messages have a unique appearance with respect to the plurality of instant messages.

25. The method according to claim 17 , further comprising:

displaying said first and second subjects in a list; and

upon receiving a third input selecting a particular subject from said list, displaying at least a portion of said thread corresponding to said particular subject.

26. A non-transistory computer program product comprising computer executable instructions for causing a processor on a mobile device to:

receive a message at the mobile device from a correspondent in an existing thread comprising said instant messaging conversation with said correspondent, said thread comprising a plurality of instant messages in chronological order, said message identifying a first subject for a first portion of said thread;

embed said first subject into said thread at a first point of creation by displaying said first subject at a first current point in said thread along with the plurality of instant messages without starting a new thread;

receive a second message identifying a second subject; and

embed said second subject into said thread at a second point of creation by displaying said second subject at a second current point in said thread along with the plurality of instant messages without starting a new thread to thereby distinguish between multiple topics covered during the same conversation by identifying different portions of said thread using said first and second subjects while maintaining previous conversation history.

27. A mobile device comprising:

a display;

a memory;

an input mechanism; and

a processor electrically coupled with the display, the memory and the input mechanism, the processor operable to:

receive a message at the mobile device from a correspondent in an existing thread comprising said instant messaging conversation with said correspondent, said thread comprising a plurality of instant messages in chronological order, said message identifying a first subject for a first portion of said thread;

embed said first subject into said thread at a first point of creation by displaying said first subject at a first current point in said thread along with the plurality of instant messages without starting a new thread;

receive a second message identifying a second subject; and

embed said second subject into said thread at a second point of creation by displaying said second subject at a second current point in said thread along with the plurality of instant messages without starting a new thread to thereby distinguish between multiple topics covered during the same conversation by identifying different portions of said thread using said first and second subjects while maintaining previous conversation history.

Assignments (8)