Patents Assigned to BlackBerry Limited
  • Patent number: 8676168
    Abstract: According to embodiments described in the specification, a method and apparatus for managing message notifications in a portable electronic device including a thermal notifier output device. The method comprises receiving a message at the portable electronic device; determining a notification setting responsive to receiving the message; and generating a thermal notification signal at the thermal notifier output device according to the determined notification setting. The thermal notification signal provides non-visual identification of an originator of the received message.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2014
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventor: John Storozuk
  • Patent number: 8676179
    Abstract: A system and method for providing identifying information about the source of an incoming communication to a mobile device is provided. An incoming communication is received by an enterprise network and a connection is established to the mobile device. A DTMF message is sent to the mobile device by the enterprise network. If the source of the incoming communication has an enterprise-assigned number then the DTMF message comprises an identifying key corresponding to the key field of a profile list comprising enterprise-assigned numbers and an identifying information entry for each enterprise-assigned number in the list. If the source of the incoming communication does not have an enterprise-assigned number, the DTMF message comprises an identifying number for the source of the incoming communication. If DTMF is not available on the mobile device, similar logic may be employed using, for example, ANI manipulation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2014
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Peter Baccay, Michael Gray, Colin Werner
  • Patent number: 8676206
    Abstract: A UE is provided. The UE includes a processor configured such that the UE receives one or more wireless signals providing handover synchronization information of a first network component relative to one or more second network components. In another embodiment, a first network component is provided. The first network component includes a processor configured to transmit one or more signals providing handover synchronization information of the first network component relative to one or more second network components. The first network component and the one or more second network components are in different radio access networks.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2014
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Paul McGilly, Andrew Mark Earnshaw, Mo-Han Fong
  • Patent number: 8677341
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for dynamically managing non-volatile memory items in a wireless device, the method comprising the steps of: checking the non-volatile memory items for a unique identifier item; if the unique identifier item exists, comparing an identifier stored within the unique identifier item with a software identifier located in software on the wireless device; and if the unique identifier item does not exist or if the identifier is different from the software identifier, performing the steps of: updating the non-volatile memory items; and writing the software identifier to the unique identifier item. The method may further include a rollback scheme for previous software versions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2007
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2014
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventor: Edward Snow Willis, II
  • Patent number: 8676130
    Abstract: The described embodiments relate generally to methods, systems and computing devices, including at least a mobile device, for ordering a discovered device list according to a Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) of each device in the discovered device list. Thus, the discovered device list has at the top of the list the device that has the highest RSSI, with the remaining devices in the discovered device list presented in descending order of RSSI.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2014
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Sean Elliott Wilson, Christopher Pattenden
  • Patent number: 8676116
    Abstract: An electronic device may include a housing having a display opening therein, processing circuitry within the housing, and wireless transceiver circuitry within the housing and coupled to the processing circuitry. The electronic device may also include NFC transceiver circuitry within the housing and coupled to the processing circuitry, a display within the housing and coupled to the processing circuitry, the display having an external surface exposed through the display opening and having an internal surface within the housing, and an NFC antenna positioned within the housing behind and aligned with the internal surface of the display and coupled to the NFC transceiver circuitry.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 7, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2014
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Lizhong Zhu, Libo Zhu, Scott Leonard Dill, Raymond Michael Dikun, Pha Cong Nguyen, Soo Liam Ooi, Randy Alan Wiessner
  • Patent number: 8676793
    Abstract: Standard word lists that are often used for such operations as predictive text, spell checking, and word completion are based on general linguistic data that might not accurately reflect actual text usage patterns of particular users. Systems and methods of building and using a custom word list for use in text operations on an electronic device are provided. A collection of text items associated with a user of the electronic device is scanned to identify words in the text items. A weighting is then assigned to each identified word, and the words and corresponding weightings are stored.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2014
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Robert Lowles, Jason T. Griffin, Michael S Brown
  • Patent number: 8677250
    Abstract: A system and method are provided for enabling a game to be played on an electronic device, comprising: enabling a game application on the electronic device to utilize a contact list for an instant messaging application, during a game in progress with a particular contact in the contact list, preparing game messages to be sent to the particular contact by including game progress data, communicating at least one game message during the game in progress with the particular contact using an instant messaging system used by the instant messaging application; displaying at least one instant message in an instant messaging conversation user interface; and displaying a game in progress user interface associated with the game play, after detecting a selection in the instant messaging conversation user interface to switch to the game in progress.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2014
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Christopher R. Wormald, Gerhard Dietrich Klassen, Ronald Scotte Zinn, Samer Fahmy
  • Patent number: 8676579
    Abstract: A method of authenticating a user of a mobile device having a first microphone and a second microphone, the method comprising receiving voice input from the user at the first and second microphones, determining a position of the user relative to the mobile device based on the voice input received by the first and second microphones, and authenticating the user based on the position of the user.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2014
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventor: James Allen Hymel
  • Patent number: 8675576
    Abstract: A method and system for a wireless device configured to communicate with a network is presented. The network is communicated with at a radio link control layer. An indication is communicated to the network that a higher layer protocol is operating in an acknowledged mode. The higher level protocol is above the radio link control layer. In some implementations, the higher level protocol terminates at a device located outside the network. A resource allocation is received from the network. The resource allocation is at the RLC layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2014
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Dinesh Kumar Arora, David Philip Hole
  • Patent number: 8675845
    Abstract: Embodiments described herein provide a user with the ability to enter and validate contact addresses when composing a message on a mobile device. The user may access at least one of a local contact address data store and a remote contact address data store when entering and validating contact addresses.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2014
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventor: Rafal Rybak
  • Patent number: 8677113
    Abstract: A method and system for providing e-mail messages to a receiving e-mail application. The e-mail messages as sent from a sending e-mail application being secure and in opaque signed format. The opaque signed e-mail messages being converted to clear signed e-mail messages by decoding extracting message content and digital signatures. The clear signed e-mails being sent to a receiving e-mail application.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2014
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Michael K. Brown, Michael S. Brown, Michael G. Kirkup
  • Patent number: 8676166
    Abstract: According to embodiments described in the specification, a method, system and apparatus for managing messages at a mobile electronic device is provided. The method comprises: receiving a message and storing the message in a memory of the mobile electronic device; determining, at a processor of the mobile electronic device, if the message passes at least one filter criterion maintained in the memory, the filter criterion for use in generating a primary message view; when the message does not pass the filter criterion, adding a device-side label to the message; generating the primary message view according to the filter criterion; detecting an interaction with the message; and in response to detecting the interaction, automatically removing the device-side label from the message.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2014
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Darsono Sutedja, Umesh Miglani
  • Patent number: 8674783
    Abstract: Methods for generating a look-up table relating a plurality of complex reflection coefficients to a plurality of matched states for a tunable matching network. Typical steps include measuring a plurality of complex reflection coefficients resulting from a plurality of impedance loads while the tunable matching network is in a predetermined state, determining a plurality of matched states for the plurality of impedance loads, with a matched state determined for each of the plurality of impedance loads and providing the determined matched states as a look-up table. A further step is interpolating the measured complex reflection coefficients and the determined matching states into a set of complex reflection coefficients with predetermined step sizes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2014
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: John Hanford Spears, Wayne Eric Smith, Yongfei Zhu, Chenggang Sui
  • Patent number: 8675905
    Abstract: An improved case for a handheld electronic device is provided. The case comprises: a housing for enclosing an audio transducer and a display, the housing having a front portion having an interior region formed therein, a window for the audio transducer and the display in the interior region, a housing surface surrounding the window and a transducer hole for part of the audio transducer; and a lens having an interior lens surface, the interior lens surface formed to mate with the housing surface and the lens having a first region having an indentation formed in the interior lens surface. For the case, a cavity is formed by the indentation with the transducer hole when the interior lens surface is mated with the housing surface to cover the transducer hole; and the case has an opening formed therein in fluid communication with the cavity and atmosphere around the handheld electronic device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2014
    Assignee: Blackberry Limited
    Inventors: Ilan Rashish, Robert Phillips, Larry Hawker
  • Patent number: 8674944
    Abstract: A method, handheld electronic device and computer program product for inputting calendar information using a graphical user interface (GUI) of a calendar application are provided. The GUI is displayed on a display screen of the handheld electronic device which comprises a navigational input device for receiving navigational input in a first and a second direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 2007
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2014
    Assignee: Blackberry Limited
    Inventors: Matthew Bells, Darrell May
  • Patent number: 8675726
    Abstract: A method of encoding a video using constrained soft-decision quantization. The soft-decision quantization includes first performing hard-decision quantization to obtain hard quantized coefficients and, then, obtaining a soft quantized coefficient using a rate-distortion calculation over a search range of quantization levels for a transform domain coefficient, wherein the search range of quantization levels for that transform domain coefficient is constrained within a number of quantization levels of a corresponding hard quantized coefficient. The search range may be based upon a fixed threshold, the coefficient position, the hard quantized coefficient magnitude, a threshold value less accumulated distortion, or other factors, including combinations of these factors. The accumulated distortion may be measured by an L1 norm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2014
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Jinwen Zan, Dake He, En-Hui Yang
  • Patent number: 8677038
    Abstract: A handheld electronic device includes a reduced QWERTY keyboard and is enabled with disambiguation software that is operable to disambiguate text input. In addition to identifying and outputting representations of language objects that are stored in the memory and that correspond with a text input, the device is able to employ contextual data in certain circumstances to prioritize output and to learn new contextual data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2014
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventor: Vadim Fux
  • Patent number: 8675869
    Abstract: During generation of a signature on a message to create a signed message, a signer determines one of the signature components such that particular information can be extracted from the signature component. The particular information may be related to one or more of the signer and the message to be signed. After receiving a signed message purported to be signed by the signer, a verifier can extract the particular information from the signature component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2014
    Assignees: BlackBerry Limited, Certicom Corp.
    Inventors: Herbert Anthony Little, Matthew John Campagna, Scott Alexander Vanstone, Daniel Richard L. Brown
  • Publication number: 20140073253
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a device, system and method to present electronic content on a first mobile electronic device in communication and configured to receive electronic content from a second electronic device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 15, 2013
    Publication date: March 13, 2014
    Applicant: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventor: Mihal Lazaridis