Control of transmission to a target device with a cloud-based architecture

• US 10,250,638 B2
• Filed: 11/15/2012
• Issued: 04/02/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 05/02/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Invention Science Fund II, L.L.C. (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Elwha LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Lord, Richard T., Lord, Robert W., Mundie, Craig J., Tegreene, Clarence T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hirl, Joseph P
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bell, Kalish
• Application Number:
  US13/678,010
• Publication Number:
  US 20130298198A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,329 Days
• Field of Search: 726 1- 4, 726 11- 12, 726 16- 17, 726 21, 709201, 709203, 709230-235
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/108 when the policy decisions are valid for a limited amount of time
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/20 for managing network security; network security policies in general filtering policies H04L63/0227
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1001 for accessing one among a plurality of replicated servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/60 Subscription-based services using application servers or record carriers, e.g. SIM application toolkits

Abstract

Systems, methods, computer-readable storage mediums including computer-readable instructions and/or circuitry for control of transmission to a target device with a cloud-based architecture may implement operations including, but not limited to: detecting, at least in part via a cloud-based architecture, an elapsed time since a prior authorization of a transmission to a target device; comparing, at least in part via a cloud-based architecture, the elapsed time since a prior authorization of a transmission to a target device against a threshold transmission interval associated with a target device; and authorizing, at least in part via a cloud-based architecture, at least one transmission to a target device in response to the comparison.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

circuitry configured for receiving a first electronic message for transmission to a target computing device and a second electronic message for transmission to the target computing device;

circuitry configured for authorizing transmission of the first electronic message to the target computing device;

circuitry configured for querying an image capture sensor of the target computing device to obtain an image of a current environment of the target computing device;

circuitry configured for analyzing the image of the current environment of the target computing device to determine a context of the target computing device;

circuitry configured for determining a threshold transmission time interval according to a mapping between the context of the target computing device and reference context data;

circuitry configured for comparing an elapsed time since the authorizing transmission of the first electronic message to the target computing device with the threshold transmission time interval; and

circuitry configured for, in response to the circuitry configured for comparing, authorizing transmission of the second electronic message to the target computing device when the threshold transmission time interval has elapsed following the authorizing transmission of the first electronic message to the target computing device.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry configured for receiving a first electronic message for transmission to a target computing device and a second electronic message for transmission to the target computing device comprises:

circuitry configured for receiving the first electronic message and the second electronic message at a cloud-based server in communication with the target computing device, the receiving at least in part via a communications network.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry configured for determining a threshold transmission time interval according to a mapping between the context of the target computing device and reference context data comprises:

circuitry configured for determining a threshold transmission time interval according to a mapping between the context of the target computing device and reference context data associated with the target computing device obtained at least in part using a serial number of the target computing device.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry configured for determining a threshold transmission time interval according to a mapping between the context of the target computing device and reference context data comprises:

circuitry configured for determining a threshold transmission time interval according to a mapping between the context of the target computing device and reference context data associated with the target computing device obtained at least in part using a model identifier of the target computing device.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry configured for determining a threshold transmission time interval according to a mapping between the context of the target computing device and reference context data comprises:

circuitry configured for determining a threshold transmission time interval according to a mapping between the context of the target computing device and reference context data associated with the target computing device obtained at least in part using a network address of the target computing device.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry configured for determining a threshold transmission time interval according to a mapping between the context of the target computing device and reference context data comprises:

circuitry configured for determining a threshold transmission time interval according to a mapping between the context of the target computing device and reference context data associated with a geographical identifier of the target computing device.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry configured for determining a threshold transmission time interval according to a mapping between the context of the target computing device and reference context data comprises:

circuitry configured for determining a threshold transmission time interval according to a mapping between the context of the target computing device and reference context data and based at least in part on a power indicator of the target computing device.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry configured for determining a threshold transmission time interval according to a mapping between the context of the target computing device and reference context data comprises:

circuitry configured for determining a threshold transmission time interval according to a mapping between the context of the target computing device and reference context data and based at least in part on an inertial signal of the target computing device.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry configured for analyzing the image of the current environment of the target computing device to determine a context of the target computing device comprises:

circuitry configured for using image recognition software on the image obtained from the target computing device to determine the current environment of the target computing device as the context of the target computing device.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein circuitry configured for using image recognition software on the image obtained from the target computing device to determine the current environment of the target computing device as the context of the target computing device comprises:

circuitry configured for using image recognition software running on a cloud-based server associated with querying the image capture sensor of the target computing device on the image obtained from the target computing device to determine the current environment of the target computing device as the context of the target computing device.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry configured for determining a threshold transmission time interval according to a mapping between the context of the target computing device and reference context data comprises:

circuitry configured for determining a threshold transmission time interval according to a mapping between the context of the target computing device and reference context data and based at least in part on a signal strength of the target computing device.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry configured for determining a threshold transmission time interval according to a mapping between the context of the target computing device and reference context data comprises:

circuitry configured for determining a threshold transmission time interval according to a mapping between the context of the target computing device and reference context data and based at least in part on a bandwidth of the target computing device.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry configured for determining a threshold transmission time interval according to a mapping between the context of the target computing device and reference context data comprises:

circuitry configured for determining a threshold transmission time interval according to a mapping between of the context of the target computing device and the reference context data and based at least in part on a connection type of the target computing device.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein circuitry configured for determining a threshold transmission time interval according to a mapping between the context of the target computing device and the reference context data and based at least in part on a connection type of the target computing device comprises:

circuitry configured for determining a threshold transmission time interval based at least in part on whether the context of the target computing device indicated by the image of the current environment of the target computing device is indicative of availability of a type of wireless connectivity.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein circuitry configured for determining a threshold transmission time interval based at least in part on whether the context of the target computing device indicated by the image of the current environment of the target computing device is indicative of availability of a type of wireless connectivity comprises:

circuitry configured for determining a threshold transmission time interval based at least in part on whether the current environment of the target computing device is outdoors and, if the current environment of the target computing device is outdoors, setting a threshold transmission time interval appropriate for cellular networking.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry configured for querying an image capture sensor of the target computing device to obtain an image of a current environment of the target computing device comprises:

circuitry configured for transmitting a request to the target computing device, the target computing device including at least one of a cell phone or a smartphone, for the target computing device to capture an image of the current environment of the target computing device using an image capture sensor of the target computing device.

20. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry configured for determining a threshold transmission time interval according to a mapping between the context of the target computing device and reference context data comprises:

circuitry configured for determining a threshold time interval according to a mapping between the context of the target computing device and historical context information including at least one of a historical average transmission parameter, a historical average message transmission length, or a historical average amount of time required to transmit a message, the historical context information associated with the target computing device.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein circuitry configured for determining a threshold time interval according to a mapping between the context of the target computing device and historical context information including at least one of a historical average transmission parameter, a historical average message transmission length, or a historical average amount of time required to transmit a message, the historical context information associated with the target computing device comprises:

circuitry configured for determining a threshold time interval according to a mapping between the context of the target computing device and historical context information associated with one or more instances of the target computing device previously being within the environment indicated by the context of the target computing device.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein circuitry configured for determining a threshold time interval according to a mapping between the context of the target computing device and historical context information associated with one or more instances of the target computing device previously being within the environment indicated by the context of the target computing device comprises:

circuitry configured for determining a threshold time interval according to a mapping between the context of the target computing device and at least one historical average transmission length associated with one or more instances of the target computing device previously being within the environment indicated by the context of the target computing device.

23. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry configured for analyzing the image of the current environment of the target computing device to determine a context of the target computing device comprises:

circuitry configured for using image recognition software on the image obtained from the target computing device to determine the context of the target computing device; and

wherein circuitry configured for determining a threshold transmission time interval according to a mapping between the context of the target computing device and reference context data includes at least;

circuitry configured for determining a threshold transmission time interval appropriate for the target computing device in the particular current environment of the target computing device from the reference context data associated with the target computing device accessed via the mapping.

24. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry configured for determining a threshold transmission time interval according to a mapping between the context of the target computing device and reference context data comprises:

circuitry configured for determining a threshold transmission time interval according to a mapping between the context of the target computing device and reference context data and based at least in part on one or more inputs to the target computing device.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein circuitry configured for determining a threshold transmission time interval according to a mapping between the context of the target computing device and reference context data and based at least in part on one or more inputs to the target computing device comprises:

circuitry configured for determining a threshold transmission time interval according to a mapping between the context of the target computing device and reference context data and based at least in part on one or more inputs to the target computing device indicative of use of the target computing device by a user.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein circuitry configured for determining a threshold transmission time interval according to a mapping between the context of the target computing device and with the reference context data and based at least in part on one or more inputs to the target computing device indicative of use of the target computing device by a user comprises:

circuitry configured for determining a threshold transmission time interval according to a mapping between the context of the target computing device and reference context data and based at least in part on one or more keyboard inputs to the target computing device indicative of use of the target computing device by a user.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein circuitry configured for determining a threshold transmission time interval according to a mapping between the context of the target computing device and reference context data and based at least in part on one or more keyboard inputs to the target computing device indicative of use of the target computing device by a user comprises:

circuitry configured for querying the target computing device to obtain a number of keyboard inputs to the target computing device since transmission of the first electronic message to the target computing device; and

circuitry configured for determining a threshold transmission time interval according to a mapping between of the context of the target computing device and reference context data and based at least in part on the number of keyboard inputs to the target computing device since transmission of the first electronic message to the target computing device.

28. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry configured for determining a threshold transmission time interval according to a mapping between the context of the target computing device and reference context data comprises:

circuitry configured for determining a threshold transmission time interval according to a mapping between the context of the target computing device and reference context data and based at least in part on one or more outputs of the target computing device.

29. The system of claim 7, wherein circuitry configured for determining a threshold transmission time interval according to a mapping between the context of the target computing device and reference context data and based at least in part on a power indicator of the target computing device comprises:

circuitry configured for determining a threshold transmission time interval according to a mapping between the context of the target computing device and reference context data and based at least in part on a remaining battery life of the target computing device.

30. The system of claim 29, wherein circuitry configured for determining a threshold transmission time interval according to a mapping between the context of the target computing device and reference context data and based at least in part on a remaining battery life of the target computing device comprises:

circuitry configured for querying the target computing device to obtain the remaining battery life of the target computing device; and

circuitry configured for determining a low threshold transmission time interval based at least in part on an indication of a high level of remaining battery life of the target computing device, the low threshold transmission time interval indicative of one or more transmissions of messages to the target computing device occurring on a time scale, the time scale determined by the threshold transmission time interval, shorter than a time scale for transmission of messages when the target computing device has a low level of remaining battery life.

31. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry configured for receiving a first electronic message for transmission to a target computing device and a second electronic message for transmission to the target computing device comprises:

circuitry configured for receiving a first text message for transmission to a target mobile computing device and a second text message for transmission to the target mobile computing device, the target mobile computing device including at least one of a cell phone or a smartphone.

32. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry configured for authorizing transmission of the first electronic message to the target computing device comprises:

circuitry configured for transmitting, by a cloud-based server in communication with the target computing device, the first electronic message to the target computing device.

33. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry configured for authorizing transmission of the first electronic message to the target computing device comprises:

circuitry configured for setting a flag indicative of authorization for transmission of the first electronic message to the target computing device.

34. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry configured for, in response to the circuitry configured for comparing, authorizing transmission of the second electronic message to the target computing device when the threshold transmission time interval has elapsed following the authorizing transmission of the first electronic message to the target computing device comprises:

circuitry configured for authorizing transmission of the second electronic message to the target computing device if an elapsed time since the authorizing transmission of the first electronic message to the target computing device exceeds the threshold time transmission interval.

35. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

circuitry configured for determining that the elapsed interval does not exceed the threshold transmission time interval and retaining the second electronic message in a message storage queue until the elapsed interval exceeds the threshold transmission time interval subsequent to one or more additional comparisons.

36. The system of claim 1, wherein circuitry configured for determining a threshold transmission time interval according to a mapping between the context of the target computing device and reference context data comprises:

circuitry configured for computing a transmission practicability index associated with practicability of successfully transmitting one or more messages to the target computing device according to the mapping between the context of the target computing device and the reference context data; and

circuitry configured for determining a threshold transmission time interval based at least in part on the transmission practicability index.

13. A method, comprising:

receiving a first electronic message for transmission to a target computing device and a second electronic message for transmission to the target computing device;

authorizing transmission of the first electronic message to the target computing device;

querying an image capture sensor of the target computing device to obtain an image of a current environment of the target computing device;

analyzing the image of the current environment of the target computing device to determine a context of the target computing device;

determining a threshold transmission time interval according to a mapping between the context of the target computing device and reference context data;

comparing an elapsed time since the authorizing transmission of the first electronic message to the target computing device with the threshold transmission time interval; and

in response to the comparing, authorizing transmission of the second electronic message to the target computing device when the threshold transmission time interval has elapsed following the authorizing transmission of the first electronic message to the target computing device,

wherein at least one of the receiving, authorizing, querying, analyzing, determining, or comparing is at least partially implemented using at least one processing device.

17. A system, comprising:

at least one computing device; and

one or more instructions that, when implemented in the computing device, program the at least one computing device for;

receiving a first electronic message for transmission to a target computing device and a second electronic message for transmission to the target computing device;

authorizing transmission of the first electronic message to the target computing device;

querying an image capture sensor of the target computing device to obtain an image of a current environment of the target computing device;

analyzing the image of the current environment of the target computing device to determine a context of the target computing device;

determining a threshold transmission time interval according to a mapping between the context of the target computing device and reference context data;

comparing an elapsed time since the authorizing transmission of the first electronic message to the target computing device with the threshold transmission time interval; and

in response to the comparing, authorizing transmission of the second electronic message to the target computing device when the threshold transmission time interval has elapsed following the authorizing transmission of the first electronic message to the target computing device.

18. An article of manufacture, comprising:

at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium including at least;

one or more instructions for receiving a first electronic message for transmission to a target computing device and a second electronic message for transmission to the target computing device;

one or more instructions for authorizing transmission of the first electronic message to the target computing device;

one or more instructions for querying an image capture sensor of the target computing device to obtain an image of a current environment of the target computing device;

one or more instructions for analyzing the image of the current environment of the target computing device to determine a context of the target computing device;

one or more instructions for determining a threshold transmission time interval according to a mapping between the context of the target computing device and reference context data;

one or more instructions for comparing an elapsed time since the authorizing transmission of the first electronic message to the target computing device with the threshold transmission time interval; and

one or more instructions for, in response to the one or more instructions for the comparing, authorizing transmission of the second electronic message to the target computing device when the threshold transmission time interval has elapsed following the authorizing transmission of the first electronic message to the target computing device.