NETWORKED ADDRESS BOOK

• US 20090157732A1
• Filed: 10/20/2008
• Published: 06/18/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Data Services LLC (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Tanna, Gaurav, Scheer, Fred, Xia, Wei, Huang, Jian, HAO, Jack Jianxiu, Yao, Xuefeng, Rozensztejn, Diego S., Zhu, Fang
• Granted Patent: US 8,280,883 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/253 where a visual mode is used instead of a voice mode
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2215/2073 Multipoint, e.g. messaging, broadcast or group SMS
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42153 by subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/53325 Interconnection arrangements between voice mail systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/53333 Message receiving aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/537 Arrangements for indicating the presence of a recorded message , whereby the presence information might include a preview or summary of the message

Abstract

A device receives one or more contacts provided in an address book associated with a user, and receives profile information associated with one or more other users. The device also links the profile information with one or more corresponding contacts provided in the address book, and provides the address book with the linked profile information to one or more user devices associated with the user.

Claims

1. A computing device-implemented method, comprising:

receiving one or more contacts provided in an address book associated with a user;

receiving profile information associated with one or more other users;

linking the profile information with one or more corresponding contacts provided in the address book; and

providing the address book with the linked profile information to one or more user devices associated with the user.

2. The computing device-implemented method of claim 1, where each of the one or more contacts includes predefined fields.

3. The computing device-implemented method of claim 1, where the profile information comprises at least one of:

contact information associated with the one or more other users,

personal information associated with the one or more other users,

professional information associated with the one or more other users,

personal preferences associated with the one or more other users, or

collections of favorite music, movies, or pictures associated with the one or more other users.

4. The computing device-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an update to a profile linked to a particular contact provided in the address book;

updating the particular contact provided in the address book based on the profile update; and

providing an updated address book to the one or more user devices associated with the user.

5. The computing device-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, from one of the one or more user devices, a change to a particular contact provided in the address book;

updating the particular contact provided in the address book based on the received change; and

providing an updated address book to other one or more user devices associated with the user.

6. The computing device-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, from a first user device associated with the user, a profile search request;

generating one or more profile search results based on the profile search request;

providing the one or more profile search results to the first user device;

receiving, from the first user device, a request to link to a profile selected from the one or more profile search results;

providing the link request to a second user device associated with the selected profile;

receiving acceptance of the link request from the second user device;

updating an address book associated with the first user device to include information associated with the selected profile; and

providing the updated address book to the first user device.

7. The computing device-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing the address book in an address book contact table;

storing the profile information in a profile table; and

storing one or more links between the profile information and the one or more corresponding contacts in a link table.

8. The computing device-implemented method of claim 1, where the computing device comprises a server.

9. The computing device-implemented method of claim 1, where each of the one or more user devices comprises one or more of:

a radiotelephone,

a personal communications system (PCS) terminal,

a personal digital assistant (PDA),

a laptop,

a personal computer,

a set-top box (STB),

a television, or

a personal gaming system.

10. A computing device-implemented method, comprising:

receiving, by a user device, one of an update to a profile linked to a contact provided in an address book associated with a user or a change to a contact provided in the address book;

comparing, by the user device, a last contact synchronization (sync) file with a current address book associated with the user device;

generating, by the user device, a user device delta file based on the comparison between the last contact sync file and the current user device address book;

comparing, by a server, the last contact sync file with a current address book associated with the server;

generating, by the server, a server delta file based on the comparison between the last contact sync file and the current server address book;

merging, by the server, the server delta file and the user device delta file to create a merged delta file; and

creating, by the server, a new contact sync file based on the merged delta file and the last contact sync file.

11. The computing device-implemented method of claim 10, further comprising:

updating, by the server, the current server address book based on the merged delta file and the last contact sync file; and

updating, by the user device, the current user device address book based on the merged delta file and the last contact sync file.

12. A device, comprising:

a memory to store a plurality of instructions; and

a processor to execute instructions in the memory to;

retrieve, from an address book contact table provided in the memory, a contact provided in an address book associated with a first user,

retrieve, from a profile table provided in the memory, a profile associated with a second user,

link the profile with the contact provided in the address book,

store the link in a link table provided in the memory, and

provide the address book with the linked profile to one or more user devices associated with the first user.

13. The device of claim 12, where the device comprises a server.

14. The device of claim 12, where each of the one or more user devices comprises one or more of:

a radiotelephone,

a personal communications system (PCS) terminal,

a personal digital assistant (PDA),

a laptop,

a personal computer,

a set-top box (STB),

a television, or

a personal gaming system.

15. The device of claim 12, where the contact includes predefined fields.

16. The device of claim 12, where the profile comprises at least one of:

contact information associated with the second user,

personal information associated with the second user,

professional information associated with the second user,

personal preferences associated with the second user, or

collections of favorite music, movies, or pictures associated with the second user.

17. The device of claim 12, where the processor further executes instructions in the memory to:

receive an update to the profile linked to the contact provided in the address book,

update the contact provided in the address book based on the profile update, and

provide, to the one or more user devices, the address book including the updated contact.

18. The device of claim 12, where the processor further executes instructions in the memory to:

store, in the address book contact table, the address book including the updated contact.

19. The device of claim 12, where the processor further executes instructions in the memory to:

receive, from one of the one or more user devices, a change to the contact provided in the address book,

update the contact provided in the address book based on the received change, and

provide, to the other one or more user devices, the address book including the updated contact.

20. The device of claim 12, where the processor further executes instructions in the memory to:

store, in the address book contact table, the address book including the updated contact.

21. The device of claim 12, where the processor further executes instructions in the memory to:

receive, from a first user device associated with the first user, a profile search request,

generate one or more profile search results based on the profile search request,

provide the one or more profile search results to the first user device, receive, from the first user device, a request to link to a particular profile selected from the one or more profile search results,

provide the link request to a second user device associated with the selected profile;

receive acceptance of the link request from the second user device,

update the address book associated with the first user to include information associated with the selected profile, and

provide the updated address book to the first user device.

22. The device of claim 12, where the processor further executes instructions in the memory to:

receive an indication of one of an update to the profile or a change to the contact,

compare a last contact synchronization (sync) file with a current address book associated with the device,

generate a device delta file based on the comparison between the last contact sync file and the current device address book,

merge the device delta file and a user device delta file associated with one of the one or more user devices to create a merged delta file, and

create a new contact sync file based on the merged delta file and the last contact sync file.

23. The device of claim 22, where the processor further executes instructions in the memory to:

update the current device address book based on the merged delta file and the last contact sync file, and

store the updated current device address book in the memory.

24. A system, comprising:

a first user device configured to;

store an address book that includes a contact, and

provide, to a server, the contact provided in the address book;

a second user device configured to;

provide, to the server, a profile associated with a user of the second user device; and

the server configured to;

receive the contact provided in the address book from the first user device,

receive the profile from the second user device,

link the profile with the contact provided in the address book, and

provide the address book with the linked profile to the first user device.

25. The system of claim 24, where each of the first and second user devices comprises one or more of:

a radiotelephone,

a personal communications system (PCS) terminal,

a personal digital assistant (PDA),

a laptop,

a personal computer,

a set-top box (STB),

a television, or

a personal gaming system.