Creating and viewing private events in an envents repository

• US 20070260636A1
• Filed: 03/28/2006
• Published: 11/08/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: R2 Solutions LLC (Acacia Research Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Lin, Leonard, Baio, Andrew, Luk, Gordon
• Granted Patent: US 7,676,449 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9574 of access to content, e.g. by caching
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/972 Access to data in other repository systems, e.g. legacy data or dynamic Web page generation

Abstract

Techniques for accessing an events information repository are provided. An events repository contains event records defining real world events. A programmatic interface is exposed to third-party applications for accessing the event records within the repository. Specifically, the programmatic interface provides a set of routines that perform operations on the repository. Using the programmatic interface, third-party applications may call the set of routines to cause operations to be executed on the repository. Further, techniques are provided for creating and viewing private events within an events repository and also for associating user-defined tags with events using the events repository.

Claims

1. A method comprising performing a machine-executed operation involving instructions, wherein the machine-executed operation is at least one of

A) sending said instructions over transmission media;

B) receiving said instructions over transmission media;

C) storing said instructions onto a machine-readable storage medium; and

D) executing the instructions;

wherein said instructions are instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the steps of;

maintaining a repository that includes event records defining real world events;

allowing users to store event records in the repository;

when an event record is stored in the repository by a user, storing event-author information that identifies the user as the event-author of the event record;

allowing event-authors to designate their events as private events;

storing event-type information that indicates which event records within the repository have been designated by their event-authors as private events;

allowing event-authors to designate one or more users as being authorized to view their private events;

storing authorized-viewer information that indicates which users have been designated, by event-authors of private events, as being authorized to view their private events;

receiving a request to display events to a user;

in response to the request, performing the steps of

determining that the user is authorized to view a particular private event by determining, based on the stored authorized-viewer information, that the event-author of the particular private event authorized the user to view the particular private event; and

transmitting to the user information that includes information about the particular private event.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the request specifies one or more event conditions; and

wherein the method further comprises the step of determining that the particular private event satisfies the one or more event conditions.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the one or more conditions include at least one of:

a time range;

an event-author; and

a geographic location.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the one or more conditions includes a condition that the event be associated with a particular user-designated tag.

5. The method of claim 2 wherein:

the particular private event is one of a plurality of private events authored by said event-author;

the plurality of private events include a second private event that satisfies said one or more event conditions;

the instructions include instructions for determining, based on the stored authorized-viewer information, that the user is not authorized to view the second private event; and

the information transmitted to the user in response to the request does not include information about the second private event.

6. The method of claim 2 wherein information included in response to the request includes information about events that are not identified as private events and that otherwise satisfy the one or more conditions.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting to the user information that includes information about the particular private event includes transmitting information that includes information about private events from additional event-authors who have authorized the user to view their private events.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing user-designated tags in tag data maintained within the repository;

wherein the user-designated tags are associated with event records and reflect attributes of the real world events represented by the event records;

wherein the step of storing user-designated tags includes;

receiving user input from a first user, wherein the user input specifies a user-designated tag for a particular event represented by a particular event record within the repository; and

in response to said input, updating the tag data by storing the user-designated tag in association with the particular event record.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein:

receiving the request to display events to a user includes receiving a request to retrieve events associated with a particular user-specified attribute; and

determining that the user is authorized to view a particular private event includes;

determining that the private event is associated with the particular user-specified attribute by comparing the particular user-specified attribute against user-specified tags in said tag data to identify a set of event records within the repository that are associated with tags that match said particular user-specified attribute

wherein the set of event records include an event record identifying the particular private event.

16. The method of claim 1!3 wherein:

the particular user group record is for a first user group;

prior to receiving the input, information about the event represented in the event record is viewable only to users that belong to a second user group that is different from said first user group; and

after receiving the input, information about the event represented in the event record is only viewable to members that belong to said first user group of to said second user group.

10. A method comprising performing a machine-executed operation involving instructions, wherein the machine-executed operation is at least one of

A) sending said instructions over transmission media;

B) receiving said instructions over transmission media;

C) storing said instructions onto a machine-readable storage medium; and

D) executing the instructions;

wherein said instructions are instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the steps of;

storing user-group records in a repository, wherein each group record defines one or more user-groups, wherein user-groups include one or more users;

storing group member information that indicates which users are members of each user-group;

receiving input from an event-author associating a particular private event record with a particular user-group record;

storing group-event information that indicates which events are associated with the particular user-group record;

receiving a request to display events to a user;

in response to the request, performing the steps of;

determining that the user is authorized to view the particular private event by determining, based on the stored group member information, that the user is a member of the particular user-group; and

transmitting to the user information that includes information about the particular private event.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the instructions further comprise instructions for:

allowing users to designate user-groups as private user-groups; and

storing group-type information that indicates which user-group records in the repository have be designated by users as private user-groups.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein the instructions further comprise instructions for allowing users to store user-group records in the repository.

13. A method comprising performing a machine-executed operation involving instructions, wherein the machine-executed operation is at least one of

A) sending said instructions over transmission media;

B) receiving said instructions over transmission media;

C) storing said instructions onto a machine-readable storage medium; and

D) executing the instructions;

wherein said instructions are instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the steps of;

storing user-group records in a repository, wherein each group record defines one or more user-groups, wherein user-groups include one or more users;

storing group member information that indicates which users are members of each user-group;

receiving input from an event-author associating an event record with a particular user-group record;

in response to the input, modifying which users are allowed to view information about the event represented in said event record.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein:

prior to receiving the input, information about the event represented in the event record is viewable only to users designated by the event-author; and

after receiving the input, information about the event represented in the event record is viewable to all users of the repository.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein:

the particular user group record is for a first user group;

prior to receiving the input, information about the event represented in the event record is viewable only to users that belong to a second user group that is different from said first user group; and

after receiving the input, information about the event represented in the event record is viewable to all users of the repository.