Notification Handling System and Method

Abstract

A notification handling system determines a notification type for a notification received at a first device of a group of associated devices. The system determines at least a second device from the group that has a capability related to the notification type such that the second device can respond to the notification and accordingly routes the notification to the second device. The notification handling system also augments the notification with additional information for the second device based on the capability of the second device. The augmented information is obtained by extracting data from the notification and augmenting the notification based on the extracted data. The notification handling system may also send or receive a global notification dismissal that dismisses the notification from all associated devices that may have received the notification.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 determining a notification type for a notification received at a first device of a group of associated devices;   determining at least a second device, selected from the group of associated devices, having a capability related to the notification type such that the second device is capable of responding to the notification; and   routing the notification to at least the second device of the group of associated devices.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 augmenting the notification with additional information for the second device based on the capability of the second device.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 extracting data from the notification and augmenting the notification based on the extracted data.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , further comprising:
 parsing the notification and extracting the data comprising time sent, related content that is related to the notification, identity of a sender or identity of an application that generated the notification; and   augmenting the notification using at least a portion of the extracted data as the additional information.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 obtaining sensor data from a plurality of sensors of the second device;   analyzing the sensor data to determine an environment of the second device; and   routing the notification to the second device if the determined environment is suitable for the user to receive the notification.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein obtaining sensor data from a plurality of sensors of the second device comprises:
 obtaining the sensor data from an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a light level sensor, a temperature sensor, or an audio sensor.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein analyzing the sensor data to determine the environment of the second device comprises:
 determining that the second device is in at least one environment including: being in motion due to the user running or walking, being in motion in a vehicle, being in motion on a train, or being in a high-noise level environment.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising:
 obtaining location information from the second device.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 determining that the second device is in the proximity to the first device prior to routing the notification to the second device.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising:
 routing the notification according to a notification priority and a determined response action based on the related content of the notification.   
     
     
         11 . A method comprising:
 receiving a notification at a first device of a group of associated devices;   routing the notification from the first device to each device of the group of associated devices;   receiving a notification dismissal from one device of the group of associated devices in response to the one device having received the notification; and   routing the notification dismissal to the first device and each other device of the group of associated devices.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 dismissing the notification on the first device and each device of the group of devices in response to the notification dismissal received by the first device and by each device of the group of associated devices.   
     
     
         13 . A device, comprising:
 at least one wireless transceiver;   a memory; and   a notification handling system, operatively coupled to the at least one transceiver and to the memory, the notification handling system operative to:
 determine a notification type for a notification received by the communication device; 
 determine a second device, selected from a group of associated devices that are associated with the device, having a capability related to the notification type such that the second device is capable of responding to the notification; and 
 route the notification to the second device of the group of associated devices. 
   
     
     
         14 . The device of  claim 13 , the notification handling system further comprising:
 a notification routing module, operative to route the notification to the second device; and   a notification data mining module, operatively coupled to the notification routing module, the notification data mining module operative to
 parse the notification and extract data comprising time sent, content sent, identity of a sender or identity of an application that generated the notification; and 
 augment the notification using at least a portion of the extracted data to add additional information to the notification prior to routing the notification to the second device. 
   
     
     
         15 . The device of  claim 14 , the notification handling system further comprising:
 a behavior analysis module, operatively coupled to the notification routing module, the behavior analysis module operative to access a user history and to determine, based on the user history, how the user has handled notifications having a same notification type as the notification received by the device.   
     
     
         16 . The device of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 a plurality of sensors, operatively coupled to the notification handling system; and   the notification handling system further comprising:
 an environment analysis module, operatively coupled to the notification routing module, the environment analysis module operative to obtain data from the plurality of sensors and to determine when the device is in motion or in a high noise level environment. 
   
     
     
         17 . A system comprising the device of  claim 13 , and a wearable device, the wearable device comprising a transceiver for communicating with the device using a wireless link, the wearable device operative to:
 receive a notification from the device; and   send a global notification dismissal to the device using the wireless link, the global notification dismissal operative to dismiss the notification from the device and any other device of the group of associated devices that received the notification.   
     
     
         18 . A device, comprising:
 at least one programmable processor; and   memory operatively coupled to the programmable processor, the memory containing executable instructions for execution by the programmable processor, where upon executing the executable instructions the programmable processor is operative to:
 provide a notification handling system in an application framework layer of a software stack, the notification handling system operatively coupled to a notification manager of the application framework layer, and to a plurality of applications in an application layer of the software stack, the notification handling system operative to:
 intercept received notifications obtained by the plurality of applications by communicating with the plurality of applications through the notification manager; 
 parse the received notifications to determine notification content, origin and priority, and generate new notifications containing augmented information related to the received notifications; 
 select one or more associated devices capable of receiving and responding to the new notifications; and 
 route the new notifications to the one or more associated devices using a network. 
 
   
     
     
         19 . The device of  claim 18 , wherein the notification handling system is further operative to:
 select one or more associated devices capable of receiving and responding to the new notifications by assessing user behavior based on a user history, the user behavior providing information about how a user has responded to notifications of a given type and having a given notification content, origin and priority, and;   select one or more associated devices capable of enabling the user to respond to the new notifications accordingly to past assessed user behavior.   
     
     
         20 . The device of  claim 19 , wherein the notification handling system is further operative to:
 assess a device environment for each of the one or more associated devices based on sensor data obtained from each of the one or more associated devices and using device environment along with the user behavior to determine when to send the new notifications.