Method and Apparatus for Accessing a Service

• US 20080090560A1
• Filed: 11/04/2005
• Published: 04/17/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/22/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Bouzid, Makram, Ribiere, Myriam, Charlton, Patricia M.
• Application Number:
  US11/577,275
• Publication Number:
  US 20080090560A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/416
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Abstract

An access unit (107) detects a service access (201) suitable for group operation and in response transmits (203) a group formation request to a plurality of applications. The applications decide whether to join the group (205) and the access unit (107) receives a group join indication from the applications deciding to join (207). Each group join indication comprises application constraint data in response to which the access unit (107) determines group constraint data (209) indicative of the constraints of the group of applications. The access unit (107) then accesses (211) a service using the group constraint data. The access unit subsequently receives service data (213) which is forwarded (215) to the individual applications. The invention may provide group based services based on services and/or applications designed for single users.

Claims

1. A method of accessing a service, the method comprising:

transmitting a group formation request to a plurality of applications;

receiving a group join indication from at least some applications of the plurality of applications, the group join indication of each application of the at least some applications comprising application constraint data;

determining group constraint data in response to the application constraint data of each of the at least some applications; and

accessing the service using the group constraint data.

2. The method claimed in claim 1 further comprising receiving service output data from the service and distributing the service output data to the at least some applications.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the service has at least one associated service input and the group constraint data comprises constraint data for the associated service input.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the group formation request comprises an indication of a characteristic of the associated service input.

5. The method of claim 3 further comprising the at least some applications determining the application constraint data in response to the associated service input and user data of the application.

6. The method of claim 4 wherein the determining of the group constraint data comprises determining a group constraint data value for the associated service input in response to application constraint data of the at least some applications for the associated service input

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the group constraint data is determined by combining the application constraint data of the at least some applications.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining a group context associated with the service.

9. The method claimed in claim 8 wherein the group formation request comprises the group context information.

10. The method claimed in claim 8 further comprising selecting the plurality of applications in response to the group context.

11. The method claimed in claim 8 wherein the group constraint data is further determined in response to the group context.

12. The method claimed in claim 8 wherein determining the group context comprises retrieving a stored group context associated with the service.

13. The method claimed in claim 8 further comprising updating a group context in response to a characteristic of the access of the service and storing the updated group context.

14. The method claimed in claim 1 further comprising determining a service context of the service and wherein transmitting the group formation request is dependent on the service context.

15. The method claimed in claim 1 further comprising each of the plurality of applications determining whether to join the group in response to a user preference associated with the application.

16. The method claimed in claim 1 further comprising each of the plurality of applications determining whether to join the group in response to a service characteristic of the service.

18. The method claimed in claim 1 further comprising determining a group profile comprising the group constraint data, an identification of the at least some applications and an identification of the service.

19. The method claimed claim 1 wherein communication with the plurality of applications is according to a peer to peer protocol.

20. The method claimed claim 1 wherein the plurality of applications are located in different user devices.

17. (canceled)

21. (canceled)

22. (canceled)

23. An apparatus for accessing a service, the apparatus comprising:

means for transmitting a group formation request to a plurality of applications;

means for receiving a group join indication from at least some applications of the plurality of applications, the group join indication of each application of the at least some applications comprising application constraint data;

means for determining group constraint data in response to the application constraint data of each of the at least some applications; and

means for accessing the service using the group constraint data.