Schema-based context service

• US 20030131069A1
• Filed: 06/28/2002
• Published: 07/10/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Horvitz, Eric J., Lucovsky, Mark H., Pierce, Shaun D.
• Granted Patent: US 7,539,747 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/335 for accessing specific resources, e.g. using Kerberos tickets
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6227 where protection concerns the structure of data, e.g. records, types, queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6236 between heterogeneous systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6245 Protecting personal data, e.g. for financial or medical purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6272 by registering files or documents with a third party
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/629 to features or functions of an application
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2141 Access rights, e.g. capability lists, access control lists, access tables, access matrices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2149 Restricted operating environment
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/214 using selective forwarding
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/133 Protocols for remote procedure calls [RPC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/303 Terminal profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/564 : Enhancement of application control based on intercepted application data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/62 : Establishing a time schedule for servicing the requests
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 : in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 : Network security protocols

Abstract

Described is a schema-based context service that provides regularized context data, such as to an information agent that handles notifications. The context service and context schema describe user contextual state data, including presence information, location information, and schedule information, along with people and groups data, sensor data, computing context data and/or extended-context data. The state data may be obtained via similar schema based services.

Claims

1. In a computer network, a method comprising:

obtaining information corresponding to a current context of an identity;

formatting the information into context data regularized according to a context schema; and

exposing the context data through a context service.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the current context information is received from a plurality of services.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein at least part of the information is obtained from a presence service that provides presence data corresponding to the identity.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein at least part of the information is obtained from a location service that provides location data corresponding to the identity.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein at least part of the information is obtained from a schedule service that provides schedule data corresponding to the identity.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein at least part of the information is obtained from user state data obtained from a sensor.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein at least part of the information is obtained from a computing context.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein at least part of the information is obtained from at least one of presence data, location data, schedule data, people and groups data, extended context data, user state data and computing context data.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising, using the context data exposed by the context service to determine whether to send a notification.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising, at the context service, accessing the information from at least one other service, including a presence service, a location service or a schedule service.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the presence service provides data regularized according to a presence schema, the location service provides data regularized according to a location schema, and the schedule service provides data regularized according to a schedule schema.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the information includes data regularized according to an extended context schema.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the information includes data regularized according to a people and groups schema.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein the information includes data regularized according to a client computing context schema.

15. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing the method of claim 1.

16. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon a data structure, comprising:

a first set of data corresponding to presence data comprising attributes about the presence of a user at or near a particular device;

a second set of data corresponding to the user'"'"'s current and/or predicted location;

a third set of data corresponding to the user'"'"'s schedule; and

wherein a context service provides access to the first, second and third sets of data via context data regularized according to a context schema.

17. The data structure of claim 16 wherein the third set of data includes information corresponding to appointments and recurrent periods of time.

18. The data structure of claim 16 further comprising, a fourth set of data corresponding to a computing context that includes information related to the user'"'"'s computing activities.

19. The data structure of claim 16 further comprising, a fourth set of data corresponding to people and groups information regarding other identities.

20. The data structure of claim 16 further comprising, a fourth set of data corresponding to sensor-provided data.

21. In a computer network having an information source that sends notifications to devices via an information service, a system comprising:

a context service, the context service providing regularized state data regarding a user'"'"'s current context, including at least one of a user'"'"'s presence, location and schedule information; and

the information service accessing the state data via the context service to decide whether to send a notification received from the information source to a device associated with the user.

22. The system of claim 21 wherein the context service receives state data from a plurality of services and formats the state data into the regularized state data.

23. The system of claim 21 further comprising a presence service, wherein the context service obtains at least part of the state data from the presence service.

24. The system of claim 21 further comprising a location service, wherein the context service obtains at least part of the state data from the location service.

25. The system of claim 21 further comprising a schedule service, wherein the context service obtains at least part of the state data from the schedule service.

26. The system of claim 21 further comprising a sensor, wherein the context service obtains at least part of the state data from the sensor.

27. The system of claim 21 further comprising a computing context service, wherein the context service obtains at least part of the state data from the computing context service.

28. The system of claim 21 wherein at least part of the state data is obtained from at least one of presence data, location data, schedule data, people and groups data, extended context data, user state data and computing context data.

29. The system of claim 21 wherein the context service accesses the state data of at least one other service, including a presence service, a location service or a schedule service.

30. The system of claim 29 wherein the presence service provides data to the context schema that is regularized according to a presence schema, the location service provides data to the context schema that is regularized according to a location schema, and the schedule service provides data to the context schema that is regularized according to a schedule schema.

31. The system of claim 21 wherein the state data is based on data regularized according to an extended context schema.

32. The system of claim 21 wherein the state data is based on data regularized according to a people and groups schema.

33. The system of claim 21 wherein the state data is based on information regularized according to a client computing context schema.

34. In a computer network, a method comprising,

providing a context schema, the context schema having context-related fields with defined structures;

receiving a data access request directed to context information, the request including associated identity information; and

in response to the data access request, manipulating at least one set of data in a logical context document that includes data therein according to the associated identity information, each set of data in the logical context document structured to correspond to a field in the context schema.

35. In a computer network, a method comprising,

receiving a request to provide context data, the request including associated identity information;

reading from a data store to obtain context data based on the associated identity information;

constructing a context document including at least part of the data in the data store, the document arranged according to a defined schema for context data; and

returning the document in response to the request.