Context Aware Computing Devices and Methods

• US 20070162474A1
• Filed: 03/23/2007
• Published: 07/12/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/05/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Parupudi, Gopal, Reus, Edward
• Granted Patent: US 7,747,704 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/29 Geographical information databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9027 Trees
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4552 Lookup mechanisms between a plurality of directories; Synchronisation of directories, e.g. metadirectories
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/123 received data contents, e.g. message integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal

Abstract

Context-aware computing systems and methods are described. In particular embodiments, location aware systems and methods are described. In the described embodiments, hierarchical tree structures are utilized to ascertain a device context or location. The tree structures can be stored on or accessible to mobile computing devices so that the devices can determine their own particular context or location. A computing device can automatically determine its context or location by ascertaining a node on one or more of the tree structures and then traversing the tree structure to ascertain the complete context.

Claims

1. A computing device comprising:

one or more processors;

memory operably associated with the one or more processors; and

a context service module loadable in the memory and executable by the one or more processors to receive context information from one or more context providers and process the information to determine a current device context by determining, from the context information, at least one node associated with the context information and traversing at least a portion of multiple different hierarchical tree structures one of which said at least one node comprises a part, wherein at least one of the tree structures is linked with and touch points into another of the tree structures.

2. The computing device of claim 1 embodied as a mobile computing device.

3. The computing device of claim 1 embodied as a desktop computing device.

4. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the device comprises cache memory that maintains a current device context.

5. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the context service module is configured to automatically receive the context information from the context providers.

6. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the context service module is configured to automatically receive the context information from the context providers and, as the context of the computing device changes, process the information to determine a new current device context.

7. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the context service module is configured to request context information from one or more of the context providers.

8. The computing device of claim 1, wherein the context service module is configured to provide information concerning a current device context to one or more applications.

9. The computing device of claim 8, wherein the context service module is configured to receive a request from the one or more applications that request the current device context information.

10. The computing device of claim 1 further comprising a context provider interface associated with the context service module, the context provider interface comprising a common interface that is capable is receiving context information from multiple different context providers.

11. The computing device of claim 1 further comprising one or more application program interfaces (APIs) operably associated with the context service module, the one or more APIs being callable by one or more applications to acquire information concerning the current device context.

12. The computing device of claim 1 further comprising one or more events that are configured for use by one or more applications so that the applications can register to receive information concerning a current device context responsive to the occurrence of one or more events.

13. A computing device comprising:

one or more processors;

one or more computer-readable media;

at least two separate and different hierarchical tree structures resident on the media, one of which comprising multiple nodes each of which represents a geographical division of the Earth, the other of which comprising multiple nodes each of which represent a physical or logical entity, wherein the other of the hierarchical tree structures is linked with and touch points into the one hierarchical tree structure; and

a location service module loadable in the memory and executable by the one or more processors to receive location information from one or more location providers and process the information to determine a current device location that comprises a node of the hierarchical tree structure.

14. The computing device of claim 13 embodied as a mobile computing device.

15. The computing device of claim 13 embodied as a desktop computing device.

16. The computing device of claim 13, wherein the location service module is configured to determine the current device location by traversing multiple nodes of the hierarchical tree.

17. The computing device of claim 13, wherein the location service module is configured to provide information concerning a current device location to one or more applications for rendering location-specific services.

18. The computing device of claim 17, wherein the location service module is configured to receive calls from the one or more applications that request the information concerning the current device location.

19. The computing device of claim 17, wherein the location service module is configured to register one or more applications for notification of information concerning a current device location upon the occurrence of a definable event.

20. A computer-implemented method of determining a computing device context comprising:

receiving, with a computing device, information that pertains to a current context of the device;

processing the information on and with the device to ascertain the current context of the computing device by determining, from the information, at least one node associated with the information and traversing at least a portion of multiple different hierarchical tree structures one of which said at least one node comprises a part, wherein one tree structure is linked with and touch points into another tree structure and wherein said one and another tree structures have different root nodes.