MOBILE DEVICE MANNERS PROPAGATION AND COMPLIANCE

• US 20080125102A1
• Filed: 09/19/2006
• Published: 05/29/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/19/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Sinclair, Michael, Guday, Shai, Abel, Miller Thomas
• Granted Patent: US 8,000,692 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/418
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/104 Grouping of entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/30 Profiles

Abstract

The present invention includes methods and technologies for defining and administering device manners policy (“DMP”), propagating DMP, reception and recognition of, and compliance with DMP. Such policy may be used to communicate to various mobile and other devices the “manners” with which compliance is expected or required. Similar to some of the social manners honored among people, such as with “no smoking” or “employees only” zones, “no swimming” or “no flash photography” areas, and scenarios for “please wash your hands” or “no talking out loud”, devices may recognize and comply with analogous “device manners” policy.

Claims

1. A method for recognizing a device manners policy (“

DMP”

) and configuring a device for compliance with the DMP, the method comprising;

recognizing the DMP; and

determining an applicability of the DMP to the device and, if applicable;

identifying any relevant device manners specified in the DMP, and

configuring the device for compliance with the any relevant device manners.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising, if the DMP is applicable to the device, periodically testing to determine if the DMP is still applicable.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising, when the DMP is no longer applicable to the device, restoring a previous configuration to the device.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the recognizing includes the device receiving the DMP via a network.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the recognizing includes the device detecting the DMP via an optical means.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the recognizing includes the device detecting the DMP via an acoustic means.

7. The method of claim 1 embodied as device-executable instructions on a device-readable medium.

8. A method for controlling a device based on a device manners policy (“

DMP”

), the method comprising;

accessing the DMP from a DMP data store associated with a DMP server;

receiving the DMP from the DMP server at the device; and

configuring the device based on one or more device manners specified by the DMP.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising:

forwarding an indication of DMP compliance from the device to a service provider; and

accessing a service provided by the service provider to the device based on the indication.

10. The method of claim 8 embodied as device-executable instructions on a device-readable medium.

11. A system for device manners propagation and compliance, the system comprising:

a device manners policy (“

DMP”

) including an expression of a device manner;

a DMP server operable to provide the DMP to a device; and

a DMP data store associated with the DMP server and operable to store the DMP.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the device manner is expressed in an extensible markup language format.

13. The system of claim 11 wherein the device manner is expressed as an image.

14. The system of claim 11 wherein the device manner is expressed in an audio format.

15. The system of claim 11 wherein the DMP server provides the DMP to the device via a network.

16. The system of claim 11 wherein the device is configured to comply with the DMP when the DMP is applicable to the device.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein the device is restored to a previous configuration when the DMP is no longer applicable to the device.

18. The system of claim 11 wherein an indication of DMP compliance is provided to a service provider.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein access by the device to a service provided by the service provider is conditioned upon the indication of DMP compliance.

20. The system of claim 11 wherein the device is a mobile device and the DMP is stored on the mobile device.