Wearable Notification Service Quiet Time Mode

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Solution Overview

Problem

Wearable electronic devices often disturb users with unwanted notifications through haptic vibrations, visual effects, and audible sounds, even when users do not intend to be alerted to incoming notifications.

Innovation Solution

A notification-affecting service on wearable devices that allows users to set a quiet time mode, using intelligence engines to automatically suppress alerting actions based on schedules, calendar events, or manual settings, preventing haptic vibrations, visual effects, and audible sounds during specified times.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of information

If user-alerting actions are enabled to notify users of incoming notifications, then users can be informed of important information, but users may be disturbed by unwanted notifications during inappropriate times

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvenotification deliveryVSAvoiduser disturbance

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary action by evaluating calendar events and schedules before notifications are delivered. The intelligence engine proactively determines quiet time periods based on user calendar data, and pre-configures suppression rules for notification alerting during these periods, preventing disturbance before it occurs.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements self-service by automatically evaluating user calendar events and schedules to determine when quiet time mode should be active. The intelligence engine autonomously makes decisions about notification suppression without requiring manual user input for each notification, allowing the system to serve itself in managing notification behavior.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

2Object-affected harmful factors

If manual quiet time mode is implemented to prevent user-alerting actions, then user disturbance is reduced, but user convenience decreases due to manual configuration requirements

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveuser disturbanceVSAvoidconfiguration effort

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The intelligence engine automatically evaluates user calendar events and schedules to determine quiet time periods, eliminating the need for manual configuration. The system serves itself by autonomously interpreting user data and making intelligent decisions about when to suppress notifications, while still allowing manual override when needed.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The intelligence engine acts as an intermediary between the user's calendar data and the notification system. It processes calendar events and schedules, translates them into quiet time configurations, and mediates between notification delivery and user disturbance prevention, automating what would otherwise require manual user setup.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Ease of operation

If automatic quiet time mode using intelligence engine is implemented, then user convenience is improved through automated management, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvenotification managementVSAvoidsystem architecture

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The intelligence engine serves as an intermediary layer between the simple user interface and the complex notification management logic. It handles the computational complexity of evaluating calendar events and schedules internally, while presenting a simple automated experience to users, effectively hiding system complexity from the user.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The complex intelligence evaluation logic is extracted as a separate functional component (the intelligence engine) that can independently process calendar data and make decisions. This modular extraction allows the complex reasoning to be isolated from the core notification system, managing complexity through functional separation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

4Object-affected harmful factors

If notification suppression is implemented during quiet times, then user disturbance is prevented, but notification delivery is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveuser disturbanceVSAvoidnotification delivery

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The system applies local quality by differentiating notification handling based on temporal context. Instead of uniformly suppressing or delivering all notifications, the intelligence engine evaluates each notification's timing against calendar events and schedules, applying suppression only during locally determined quiet time periods while allowing delivery during non-quiet periods.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The notification delivery system transitions from a static on/off state to a dynamic state that continuously adapts based on calendar events and schedules. The intelligence engine dynamically determines quiet time periods, allowing the system to flexibly adjust notification behavior in response to changing user contexts and time-dependent conditions.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentUS9880157B2Apparatus and methods for suppressing user-alerting actions

Publication Date: 2018.01.30 FITBIT INC

AI summary

Provided herein are apparatuses and methods related to a notification-affecting service on a wearable electronic device configured to set a quiet time mode preventing a user-alerting action selected from, for example, a haptic vibration, a visual effect, and an audible effect from alerting a user of the wearable electronic device.