Patent Issued for Initiating Communications Based On Interactions With Images (USPTO 10,564,824)

2020 FEB 28 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- From Alexandria, Virginia, NewsRx journalists report that a patent by the inventors Freeman, James M. (Bloomington, IL); Pillai, Vaidya Balasubramanian (Springfield, IL); Riley, Sr., Matthew Eric (Heyworth, IL); Thurber, David W. (Sherman, IL); Carter, Gregory Dwayne (Bloomington, IL); Chang, Jason (Roselle, IL), filed on May 4, 2018, was published online on March 2, 2020.

The patent’s assignee for patent number 10,564,824 is State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (Bloomington, Illinois, United States).

News editors obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: “Typical contact lists displayed on mobile devices, such as smart phones, are difficult to navigate for many elderly or handicapped individuals These contact lists can be very lengthy and include an overwhelming amount of information (names, numbers, email addresses, etc.) and navigation functionalities. For this and other reasons related to non-intuitive interfaces, technology companies struggle to market the latest mobile technology to the aging population.

“Even for younger users and technologically savvy individuals, lengthy contact lists and typical communication interfaces can be a source of frustration. For example, when scrolling through a gallery of photos, a certain photo may prompt the user to communicate with an individual pictured in the certain photo. However, instead of immediately being able to call, text, or otherwise communicate with the individual, the user is inconvenienced by having to exit the gallery of photos, scroll through a lengthy contact list, locate the contact information of the individual, and initiate the communication.”

As a supplement to the background information on this patent, NewsRx correspondents also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “In one embodiment, a computer-implemented method comprises detecting, by a recognition routine, a plurality of faces within one or more images, and, for each of the plurality of faces, registering, by an image to contact connection routine, the face with a contact, wherein registering the face includes storing, on a computer-readable storage medium, first information associating the face with the contact, and wherein the computer-readable storage medium also stores second information about the contact indicating how to communicate with the contact using a plurality of types of communication. The method further includes receiving a selection of one of the plurality of faces from a user, in response to the selection of the one of the plurality of faces, determining the contact associated with the selected one of the plurality of faces based on the first information, and retrieving the second information about the contact determined to be associated with the selected one of the plurality of faces. Still further, the method includes generating, based on the retrieved second information, a list of selectable communication types to be displayed to the user on a display device, the list of selectable communication types allowing the user to select one of the selectable communication types in the list of communication types to communicate with the contact determined to be associated with the selected one of the plurality of faces via the one of the selectable communication types.

“In another embodiment, a computer device comprises one or more processors and one or more non-transitory memories coupled to the one or more processors. The one or more non-transitory memories include computer executable instructions specially configuring the computer device such that, when executed by the one or more processors, the computer executable instructions cause the one or more processors to: detect a plurality of faces within one or more images, and, for each of the plurality of faces, register the face with a contact, wherein registering the face includes storing, on a computer-readable storage medium, first information associating the face with the contact, and wherein the computer-readable storage medium also stores second information about the contact indicating how to communicate with the contact using a plurality of types of communication. The computer executable instructions further cause the one or more processors to receive a selection of one of the plurality of faces from a user, in response to the selection of the one of the plurality of faces, determine the contact associated with the selected one of the plurality of faces based on the first information, and retrieve the second information about the contact determined to be associated with the selected one of the plurality of faces. Still further, the computer executable instructions further cause the one or more processors to generate, based on the retrieved second information, a list of selectable communication types to be displayed to the user on a display device, the list of selectable communication types allowing the user to select one of the selectable communication types in the list of communication types to communicate with the contact determined to be associated with the selected one of the plurality of faces via the one of the selectable communication types.

“In yet another embodiment, a method of registering depicted faces with contacts comprises detecting, by a facial recognition routine, a plurality of distinct areas within one or more images, each of the plurality of distinct areas corresponding to a face depicted in the one or more images, causing the one or more images to be displayed to a user on a display device, and receiving from the user a selection of one of the plurality of distinct areas within the displayed one or more images. The method further includes causing an interface to be presented to the user on the display device, the interface allowing the user to indicate a contact associated with the selected one of the plurality of distinct areas, receiving an indication of the contact via the interface, and storing, on a computer-readable storage medium, data indicative of the association between the selected one of the plurality of distinct areas and the contact.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“What is claimed is:

“1. A computer-implemented method in an electronic device, the method comprising: displaying, in a user interface, an image depicting a first individual and a second individual, wherein each of the first individual and the second individual has contact information; detecting at least one distinct area of the first individual depicted in the image depicting the first individual and the second individual; displaying, in the user interface, the at least one distinct area of the first individual as a visual element within the image depicting the first individual and the second individual, wherein the visual element includes at least a shape and a textual label; displaying, concurrently with the image depicting the first individual and the second individual and the visual element, a region that is visually separate from the image depicting the first individual and the second individual; displaying, within the region, a plurality of customizable icons, which, when respectively selected, initiate a respective communication session, wherein an image of each of the plurality of customizable icons and a contact of each of the plurality of customizable icons are user-selectable; associating at least one customizable icon of the plurality of customizable icons with an emergency contact; after displaying the image depicting the first individual and the second individual and the at least one distinct area as the visual element, receiving, by a user via the user interface, a first selection of the visual element; after receiving the first selection, determining that the user has access to the contact information of the first individual; retrieving, from memory, the contact information of the first individual; identifying, based on the contact information of the first individual, a list of selectable communication types; displaying, in the user interface, the list of selectable communication types; receiving, via the user interface, a selection of a communication type in the list of selectable communication types; and in response to receiving the selection of the communication type, generating a request to communicate with the first individual according to the communication type.

“2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein displaying the list of selectable communication types comprises: displaying two or more of a phone call, a video conference, a social media post, a text message, an email, an instant message, and an Internet call.

“3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein displaying the list of selectable communication types comprises: displaying three or more of a phone call, a video conference, a social media post, a text message, an email, an instant message, and an Internet call.

“4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein generating the request to communicate with the first individual according to the communication type comprises: causing the electronic device to be connected to the first individual via the communication type.

“5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the user interface comprises a touchscreen, and wherein receiving, via the user interface, the first selection comprises: detecting, via the touchscreen, a particular gesture, the particular gesture at least partially intersecting the image depicting the first individual and the second individual.

“6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein detecting the particular gesture comprises: detecting the user touching the touchscreen for a pre-determined amount of time.

“7. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein detecting the particular gesture comprises: detecting the user touching at least one point of the image and moving the at least one point in a direction along the touchscreen.

“8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: displaying, in the user interface, an additional distinct area of the second individual as an additional visual element within the image depicting the first individual and the second individual.

“9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein displaying, in the user interface, the at least one distinct area of the first individual comprises: displaying, in the user interface, the at least one distinct area of the first individual overlaid on the image depicting the first individual and the second individual.

“10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein displaying, in the user interface, the at least one distinct area of the first individual comprises: displaying, in the user interface, the at least one distinct area of the first individual embedded within the image depicting the first individual and the second individual.

“11. An electronic device comprising: a user interface; a memory storing (i) a set of computer executable instructions and (ii) contact information associated with each of a first individual and a second individual; and a processor interfacing with user interface and the memory, and configured to execute the set of computer executable instructions to cause the processor to: cause the user interface to display an image depicting the first individual and the second individual, detect at least one distinct area of the first individual depicted in the image depicting the first individual and the second individual, cause the user interface to display the at least one distinct area of the first individual as a visual element within the image depicting the first individual and the second individual, wherein the visual element includes at least a shape and a textual label, cause the user interface to display, concurrently with the image depicting the first individual and the second individual and the visual element, a region that is visually separate from the image depicting the first individual and the second individual, cause the user interface to display, within the region, a plurality of customizable icons, which, when respectively selected, initiate a respective communication session, wherein an image of each of the plurality of customizable icons and a contact of each of the plurality of customizable icons are user-selectable, associate at least one customizable icon of the plurality of customizable icons with an emergency contact, after causing the user interface to display the image depicting the first individual and the second individual and the at least one distinct area as the visual element, receive, by a user via the user interface, a first selection of the visual element, after receiving the first selection, determine that the user has access to the contact information of the first individual, retrieve, from the memory, the contact information of the first individual, identify, based on the contact information of the first individual, a list of selectable communication types, cause the user interface to display the list of selectable communication types, receive, via the user interface, a selection of a communication type in the list of selectable communication types, and in response to receiving the selection of the communication type, generate a request to communicate with the first individual according to the communication type.

“12. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the user interface displays, as the list of selectable communication types, two or more of a phone call, a video conference, a social media post, a text message, an email, an instant message, and an Internet call.

“13. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the user interface displays, as the list of selectable communication types, three or more of a phone call, a video conference, a social media post, a text message, an email, an instant message, and an Internet call.

“14. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein to generate the request to communicate with the first individual according to the communication type, the processor is configured to: cause the electronic device to be connected to the first individual via the communication type.

“15. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the user interface comprises a touchscreen, and wherein to receive, via the user interface, the first selection, the processor is configured to: detect, via the touchscreen, a particular gesture, the particular gesture at least partially intersecting the image depicting the first individual and the second individual.

“16. The electronic device of claim 15, wherein to detect the particular gesture, the processor is configured to: detect the user touching the touchscreen for a pre-determined amount of time.

“17. The electronic device of claim 15, wherein to detect the particular gesture, the processor is configured to: detect the user touching at least one point of the image and moving the at least one point in a direction along the touchscreen.

“18. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to: cause the user interface to display an additional distinct area of the second individual as an additional visual element within the image depicting the first individual and the second individual.

“19. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the processer causes the user interface to display the at least one distinct area of the first individual overlaid on the image depicting the first individual and the second individual.

“20. The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the processer causes the user interface to display the at least one distinct area of the first individual embedded within the image depicting the first individual and the second individual.”

For additional information on this patent, see: Freeman, James M.; Pillai, Vaidya Balasubramanian; Riley, Sr., Matthew Eric; Thurber, David W.; Carter, Gregory Dwayne; Chang, Jason. Initiating Communications Based On Interactions With Images. U.S. Patent Number 10,564,824, filed May 4, 2018, and published online on March 2, 2020. Patent URL: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=10,564,824.PN.&OS=PN/10,564,824RS=PN/10,564,824

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