System and method for discovering and publishing of presence information on a network

• US 20050246421A1
• Filed: 05/01/2004
• Published: 11/03/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/01/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Harvey, Marcus S.H., Dunn, Melissa W., Kumar, Arvind, Oreizy, Peyman, Blagsvedt, Sean O., Moore, Kevin R.
• Granted Patent: US 8,239,452 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users

Abstract

A system and method is provided for publication and discovery of the presence of nearby users on a network. When the system is enabled, the presence of the local user is published on the network. Nearby users that also have a similar system enabled can discover the local user'"'"'s presence on the network. Furthermore, the local user may discovery the presence of the other nearby users that are currently publishing their presence on the network.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for publishing and discovering presence information on a network, comprising:

publishing a contact representing a local user on the network;

monitoring for presence of a contact representing a nearby user on the network; and

producing an output notifying of the presence of the nearby user on the network.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein publishing the contact representing the local user further comprises sending an alive message.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the alive message includes a sharing address that resolves to an address for a device associated with the local user.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the alive message includes a display name selected by the local user.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein monitoring for presence of a contact representing the nearby user further comprises monitoring for an alive message sent from a computing device associated with the nearby user.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein monitoring for presence of a contact representing the nearby user further comprises storing a contact entry within a storage system, wherein the contact entry corresponds to the contact representing the nearby user.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, further comprising updating the contact entry in the storage system when changes occur to the contact representing the nearby user.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the output notifying of the presence of the nearby user is dependent on whether monitoring for the nearby user is currently enabled.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising verifying an identity associated with the nearby user before producing the output notifying of the presence of the nearby user.

10. A computer-readable medium that includes computer-executable instructions for publishing and discovering presence information on a network, comprising:

publishing a contact representing a local user on the network;

monitoring for presence of a contact representing a nearby user on the network;

storing a contact entry in a storage system, wherein the contact entry stored corresponds to the nearby user; and

producing an output that corresponds to the contact entry, wherein the output notifies the local user of the presence of the nearby user on the network.

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein publishing the contact representing the local user further comprises sending an alive message.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the alive message includes a sharing address that resolves to an address for a device associated with the local user.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the alive message includes a display name selected by the local user.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein monitoring for presence of a contact representing the nearby user further comprises monitoring for an alive message sent from a computing device associated with the nearby user.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 10, further comprising updating the contact entry in the storage system when changes occur to the contact representing the nearby user.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the output corresponding to the contract entry is dependent on whether monitoring for the nearby user is currently enabled.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 10, further comprising verifying an identity associated with the nearby user before producing the output corresponding to the contact entry.

18. A system for publishing and discovering presence information on a network, comprising:

a computing device that includes an application that is configured to;

publish a contact representing a local user on the network;

monitor for presence of a contact representing a nearby user on the network; and

produce an output notifying of the presence of the nearby user and the presence of the local user on the network.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the computing device is further configured to monitor for an alive message sent from a computing device associated with the nearby user.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the computing device is further configured to store a contact entry within a storage system, wherein the contact entry corresponds to the contact representing the nearby user.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the computing device is further configured to update the contact entry in the storage system when changes occur to the contact representing the nearby user.

22. The system of claim 18, wherein the output notifying of the presence of the nearby user is dependent on whether monitoring for the nearby user is currently enabled.

23. The system of claim 18, wherein the computing device is further configured to verify an identity associated with the nearby user before producing the output notifying of the presence of the nearby user.