Presence, location and availability communication system and method
First Claim
1. A presence, location and availability system for use in a communications network, including at least one subscriber having a subscriber device, a service provider administrator, at least one third party application client and a third party application location service, the system comprising:
- application program interfaces for interfacing said server with each of the at least one third party application client and with the third party application location service;
a database, comprising;
an identity record for each subscriber;
a preferences record for each subscriber; and
a presence record for each subscriber device, said presence record updated on a substantially real-time basis with the status of the subscriber within the communications network; and
a preference engine for processing a subscriber device location request from a third party application client by comparing the request with subscriber preferences stored in said database.
5 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method is disclosed for managing subscriber presence, location and availability (“PLA”) information across one or more communications networks. “Presence” requires both that a device be physically present within a network and that the device be in a state in which it can communicate. “Location” refers to the geographical coordinates associated with a communication device. “Availability” refers to a state characterizing whether a subscriber controlling a device desires to be contacted by another communicating entity. The presence, location and availability system (“PLAS”) provides interfaces between third party applications, third party suppliers of presence and location information, other PLA systems, subscribers and service provider administrators and enables subscribers to dictate and control access to subscriber presence, location and availability information. The PLAS makes presence, location and availability information available to third party applications in accordance with the subscriber defined preferences. In addition, the PLAS includes a database for managing subscriber identities, identity templates, permission lists, devices and their capabilities, device and capability templates, presence information, location information, subscriber dictated preferences and other information necessary for the PLAS to properly administer and control the flow of presence, location and availability information within and across networks.
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Citations
14 Claims
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1. A presence, location and availability system for use in a communications network, including at least one subscriber having a subscriber device, a service provider administrator, at least one third party application client and a third party application location service, the system comprising:
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application program interfaces for interfacing said server with each of the at least one third party application client and with the third party application location service;
a database, comprising;
an identity record for each subscriber;
a preferences record for each subscriber; and
a presence record for each subscriber device, said presence record updated on a substantially real-time basis with the status of the subscriber within the communications network; and
a preference engine for processing a subscriber device location request from a third party application client by comparing the request with subscriber preferences stored in said database. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 14)
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10. A method for managing subscriber presence, location and availability information across a communications network having:
- at least one subscriber with a subscriber device;
a service provider administrator;
at least one third party application client; and
a third party application location service, the method comprising the steps of;
permitting a subscriber to log onto a server;
permitting the subscriber to enter a personal information profile into a server database;
permitting the subscriber to enter information pertaining to subscriber devices into the server database;
permitting the subscriber to establish availability preferences into the server database;
receiving from a third party application client an availability inquiry for a specified subscriber;
accessing the server database to determine if the specified subscriber is present;
further determining if the specified subscriber is available to the inquiring third party application; and
notifying the third party application of the presence and availability of the specified subscriber.
- at least one subscriber with a subscriber device;
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11. A presence, location and availability system for use in a communications network, including at least one subscriber having a subscriber device, a service provider administrator, at least one third party application client and a third party application location service, the system comprising:
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application program interfaces for interfacing said server with each of the at least one third party application client and with the third party application location service;
a database, comprising;
an identity record for each subscriber;
a preferences record for each subscriber comprising information provided by each subscriber indicating what communications the subscriber desires to receive from third party application clients and select persons;
a device profile record for each subscriber device, said device profile record containing possible capabilities of each subscriber device;
a presence record for each subscriber device, said presence record updated on a substantially real-time basis with the status of the subscriber within the communications network; and
a location record for each subscriber device, said location record updated on a substantially real-time basis with the approximate geographic location of the subscriber device within the communications network; and
a preference engine for processing a subscriber device location request from a third party application client by comparing the request with subscriber preferences stored in said database. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13)
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Specification