Method and system for tracking objects associated with an activity

• US 20060136357A1
• Filed: 12/20/2004
• Published: 06/22/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Rasmussen, David, Pratley, Christopher H., Braun, Owen
• Granted Patent: US 7,970,771 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/335 Filtering based on additional data, e.g. user or group profiles filtering in web context G06F16/9535, G06F16/9536
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

An object tracking module establishes relationships between different types of data objects associated with application programs while a particular activity occurs. Contextual information associated with the data objects and the activity is collected to establish the relationship. The contextual information may include data objects that are accessed or created while the activity is in progress, or any other information associated with the activity. When an event related to the activity occurs, the object tracking module locates data relevant to the event based on the established relationships. The relevant data is presented in the same information space where the event occurs. A user may easily access the relevant information without manually searching for the data. The object tracking module may determine the degree of relevance between the data objects and the event such that only the most relevant objects are displayed.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for tracking an object associated with an activity, comprising:

collecting contextual information associated with the activity;

establishing a relationship between the object and the activity based on the contextual information, wherein the activity is associated with an event;

locating the object when the event occurs based on the established relationship; and

displaying a representation of the object.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the object is associated with an application program.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein establishing a relationship further comprises establishing a relationship between the object and the activity when the object is created.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein establishing a relationship further comprises establishing a relationship between the object and the activity when the object is accessed.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the object comprises information associated with the activity.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein establishing a relationship further comprises establishing a relationship between the object and the activity using metadata, and wherein locating the object further comprises locating the object using the metadata.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein displaying a representation of the object further comprises displaying a link to the object location in the same information space where the event occurs.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein collecting contextual information further comprises collecting transient contextual information associated with the activity.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

associating the object with another object that is associated with the activity;

determining a relative degree of relevance between the objects and the activity; and

displaying the representations of the objects based on the determined degree of relevance.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein collecting contextual information further comprises collecting contextual information associated with the activity while the activity is performed.

17. The system of claim 11, wherein a relative degree of relevance between the objects and the activity is determined and a predetermined number of the objects are displayed according to the degree of relevance.

11. A system for tracking objects associated with an activity, comprising:

at least one application loaded into memory of a computing device, wherein the objects are associated with the at least one application, and wherein the at least one application is activated during performance of the activity; and

a object tracking module associated with the at least one application, the object tracking mechanism being arranged to;

collect contextual information associated with the activity, wherein the activity is associated with an event;

establish a relationship between pairs of;

the objects and the activity, wherein the relationship is established based on the contextual information;

retrieve the objects when the event occurs based on the established relationships; and

display the objects.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the paired relationships are established when the objects are created.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the paired relationships are established when the objects are accessed.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the paired relationships are established using metadata, and wherein the objects are retrieved using the metadata.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the objects are displayed in the same information space where the event occurs.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein the objects are displayed in chronological order based on when the objects were last accessed.

18. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for tracking objects associated with an activity, comprising:

collecting contextual information associated with the activity while the activity is performed, wherein the activity is associated with an event;

establishing a relationship between pairs of;

the objects and the activity, wherein the relationship is established based on the contextual information;

locating the objects when the event occurs based on the established relationships; and

displaying representations of the objects.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein establishing the paired relationship further comprises establishing the paired relationship when the objects are created.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein establishing the paired relationship further comprises establishing the paired relationship when the objects are accessed.