AUTOMATED MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS

• US 20080172361A1
• Filed: 01/17/2007
• Published: 07/17/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Chang, Eric, Wong, Kong-Kat
• Granted Patent: US 7,873,655 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/3
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/123 received data contents, e.g. message integrity

Abstract

An “Automatic Communicator” provides automated communications services between portable electronic devices (such as, for example, cell phones, PDA'"'"'s, media players, portable computers, etc.) to facilitate information transfer and matching services while minimizing or eliminating the need for human involvement in responding to queries from one electronic device to another. Such communications are enabled by allowing portable electronic devices (“requesting devices”) to send a query to other portable electronic devices (“answering devices”), and have one or more of those answering devices automatically respond to the query without requiring users of the answering devices to become involved in providing that response. In effect, this allows the portable electronic devices of users to act as digital “butlers” or “personal assistants” that respond to queries on behalf of the users of those devices. In various embodiments, privacy concerns are addressed by authenticating authorized requesting devices or limiting information returned in response to queries.

Claims

1. A system for automating communications between two or more computing devices, comprising:

generating a query request message comprising a request for information on a first computing device;

transmitting the query request message from the first computing device to at least one additional computing device;

on each additional computing device that receives the transmitted query request message;

automatically evaluating the query request message to determine whether the additional computing device can respond to the query request message from locally accessible data;

automatically preparing a query response message including the information requested by the query request message if that information is locally accessible;

automatically transmitting the query response message to the first computing device; and

on the first computing device, automatically receiving the query response messages transmitted by each additional computing device.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein any of the query request message and the query response message are encrypted prior to transmitting the message.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein each additional computing device validates received query request messages as being authorized prior to preparing the query response message including the information requested by the query request message, and wherein the additional computing device will not prepare and transmit the query response message in reply to any invalid query request message.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein any additional computing device that cannot respond to respond to the query request message from locally accessible data automatically transmits the query request message to one or more further computing devices.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein each further computing device:

automatically evaluates the received query request message to determine whether the further computing device can respond to the query request message from locally accessible data; and

automatically prepares a query response message including the information requested by the query request message if that information is locally accessible.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein each further computing device automatically transmits the query response message to the first computing device.

7. The system of claim 5 wherein each further computing device automatically transmits the query response message to the additional computing device that transmitted the query request message to that further computing device, and wherein that additional computing device then transmits the query response message to the first computing device.

8. A computer readable medium having computer executable instructions stored thereon for automating communications between two or more computing devices, comprising instructions for:

sending a request message from a first computing device to one or more additional computing devices, said request message representing a request for particular information;

on each additional computing device that receives the request message;

determining whether the received request message is authorized;

if the request message is authorized, evaluating the request message to determine whether the particular information requested is accessible to the additional computing device; and

if the particular information requested is accessible to the additional computing device, transmitting a response message that includes the particular information requested to the first computing device.

9. The computer readable medium of claim 8 wherein determining whether the received request message is authorized further comprises instructions for determining whether the request message has been transmitted via an authorized device.

10. The computer readable medium of claim 8 wherein determining whether the received request message is authorized further comprises instructions for determining whether the request message has been transmitted from an authorized user.

11. The computer readable medium of claim 8 wherein determining whether the received request message is authorized further comprises instructions for determining whether the requested particular information is authorized to be transmitted to the first computing device.

12. The computer readable medium of claim 8 wherein any additional computing device that cannot respond to respond to an authorized request message from locally accessible data automatically transmits the request message to one or more further computing devices.

13. The computer readable medium of claim 12 wherein each further computing device includes computer executable instructions for:

determining whether the received request message is authorized;

if the request message is authorized, evaluating the request message to determine whether the particular information requested is accessible to the further computing device; and

if the particular information requested is accessible to the further computing device, transmitting a response message that includes the particular information requested.

14. The computer readable medium of claim 13 wherein transmitting the response message comprises transmitting the response message to the first computing device.

15. The computer readable medium of claim 13 wherein transmitting the response message comprises transmitting the response message to additional computing device from which the request message was received, and in turn forwarding that response message from the additional computing device to the first computing device.

16. A method for facilitating automated communications between two or more electronic devices, comprising:

using a first computing device to send at least one original information request to one or more additional computing devices;

for each additional computing device receiving one or more original information requests, determining whether each original information request is authorized;

for each additional computing device having an authorized original information request, determining whether the requested information corresponding to each authorized original information request is locally accessible; and

if the requested information requested is locally accessible, transmitting that information from the additional computing device to the first computing device.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising:

using one or more of the additional computing devices to send at least one reply information request to any of the first computing device and the other additional computing devices in response to one or more of the original information requests; and

wherein any of the first computing device and the other additional computing devices receiving one or more reply information requests responds to the reply information requests by determining whether the requested information corresponding to each reply information request is locally accessible; and

if the requested information requested is locally accessible, transmitting that information to the computing device that sent the reply information request.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the automated communications enables automated scheduling of appointments between two or users associated with any of the first computing device and the additional computing devices.

19. The method of claim 17 wherein the automated communications enables any of the first computing device and the additional computing devices to automatically report current user location information for users associated with those computing devices.

20. The method of claim 16 wherein the requested information includes at least one of:

user contact information;

user location information schedule information; and

status information.