System and method for providing context information

• US 20080115149A1
• Filed: 11/15/2006
• Published: 05/15/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/15/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Yahoo! Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Rupp, Jason, Khan, Mohammad Rafiushan
• Granted Patent: US 8,522,257 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 719/318
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/302 where the computing system component is a software system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3072 where the reporting involves data filtering, e.g. pattern matching, time or event triggered, adaptive or policy-based reporting
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3438 monitoring of user actions tracking the activity of the user H04L67/535
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/24 Querying
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/86 Event-based monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2201/865 Monitoring of software
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/453 Help systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/234 for tracking messages

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a system and method of providing context information. Context information is automatically retrieved by monitoring at least one application program executable on a computing system, so as to detect an event associated with the application program, identifying information corresponding to the detected event, and retrieving, automatically without user request, context information associated with the detected event.

Claims

1. A method executable by at least one computing system of automatically retrieving context information comprising:

monitoring at least one application program executable on the computing system, so as to detect an event associated with the application program;

identifying information corresponding to the detected event; and

retrieving, automatically without user request, context information associated with the detected event.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of monitoring is transparent to the at least one application program.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing the retrieved context information to a user of the at least one application program.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the retrieved context information is presented in a display to the user.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the display is an initial display which provides a summary of the retrieved context information, such that the initial display can be expanded to include details associated with the retrieved context information.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of identifying further comprises:

examining the information corresponding to the detected event to identify at least one pattern; and

extracting from the information at least one information item corresponding to an identified pattern.

7. A graphical user interface for displaying context information, the interface comprising:

a display window configured to present automatically without request from a user one or more information categories, each information category corresponding to context information providing context for displayed contents of another display window.

8. The interface of claim 7, wherein the display window is displayed in response to an event occurring in connection with the other display window.

9. The interface of claim 7, wherein each information category represents a summary of one or more context information items, and wherein the display window further comprises a selection to view the one or more context information items in more detail.

10. The interface of claim 7, wherein the display window further comprises a portion identifying an information item determined to fit a pattern, the information item extracted from the displayed contents of the other display window.

11. The interface of claim 10, wherein the display window further comprises a selection to view history corresponding to the information item and a selection to enter information corresponding to the information item.

12. The interface of claim 11, wherein the display window is configured to display historical information corresponding to the information item in response to the selection to view history.

13. The interface of claim 11, wherein the display window is configured to provide at least one input field corresponding to a type of the information item determined based on a determined pattern of the information item.

14. The interface of claim 13, further comprising a button to save the information item alone or together with data entered in the at least one input field.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising

retrieving additional stored information using at least one information item of the retrieved information associated with the first event.

15. A method executable by at least one computing system of automatically retrieving context information comprising:

collecting context information in connection with a first event associated with a first application program, said step of collecting comprises;

monitoring the at least one application program, so as to detect the first event;

identifying contextual information corresponding to the first event; and

storing information associated with the first event, the stored information including the identified contextual information;

retrieving context information associated with a second event with a second application program, said step of retrieving context information comprising;

monitoring the second application program, so as to detect the second event;

identifying information corresponding to the second event; and

retrieving some or all of the stored information associated with the first event using context information associated with the information corresponding to the detected event.

17. A computer-readable medium having embodied therein a computer program for executing a method of automatically retrieving context information, the method comprising:

monitoring at least one application program executable on the computing system, so as to detect an event associated with the application program;

identifying information corresponding to the detected event; and

retrieving, automatically without user request, context information associated with the detected event.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein said step of monitoring is transparent to the at least one application program.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 17, further comprising providing the retrieved context information to a user of the at least one application program.

20. The computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the retrieved context information is presented in a display to the user.

21. The computer-readable medium of claim 20, wherein the display is an initial display which provides a summary of the retrieved context information, such that the initial display can be expanded to include details associated with the retrieved context information.

22. The computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the step of identifying further comprises:

examining the information corresponding to the detected event to identify at least one pattern; and

extracting from the information at least one information item corresponding to an identified pattern.

23. A computer-readable medium having embodied therein a computer program for executing a method of automatically retrieving context information, the method comprising:

collecting context information in connection with a first event associated with a first application program, said step of collecting comprises;

monitoring the at least one application program, so as to detect the first event;

identifying contextual information corresponding to the first event; and

storing information associated with the first event, the stored information including the identified contextual information;

retrieving context information associated with a second event with a second application program, said step of retrieving context information comprising;

monitoring the second application program, so as to detect the second event;

identifying information corresponding to the second event; and

retrieving some or all of the stored information associated with the first event using context information associated with the information corresponding to the detected event.