SYSTEM, APPARATUS AND ASSOCIATED METHODOLOGY FOR ENRICHING CONTACT OF A REMOTE CLIENT

• US 20100144323A1
• Filed: 09/04/2009
• Published: 06/10/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Good Technology Corporation (Blackberry Limited)
• Inventors: Wolovitz, Lionel, Collins, Tim
• Granted Patent: US 8,942,675 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/414.100
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/1093 Calendar-based scheduling for persons or groups
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/01 Social networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/18 Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data

Abstract

A contact enrichment system is provided to determine whether contacts stored in a mobile device match profiles stored on a social network server. Profiles matching the contacts are used to enrich the contacts by appending information such as images and video to the contacts. The appended information in the contacts are also linked to the source profile so that the contact information may be periodically updated. Information may be drawn from multiple profiles on multiple social network servers to fully enrich the contacts stored on the mobile device.

Claims

1. A contact enrichment system comprising:

a social network server connected to a network and configured to store a plurality of profiles in relation to a plurality of accounts;

a mobile device configured to store a plurality contacts;

a contact enrichment server connected to the network and configured to search at least one account on the social network server for a matching profile corresponding to at least one contact stored in the mobile device, the contact enrichment server appending information from the matching profile to the at least one contact.

2. The contact enrichment system according to claim 1, wherein the contact enrichment server identifies a matching profile by comparing a subset of data items included in the at least one contact with profiles included in the at least one account.

3. The contact enrichment system according to claim 2, wherein the contact enrichment server identifies a matching profile when one data item in the subset of data of the at least one contact is present in the matching profile.

4. The contact enrichment system according to claim 3, wherein the contact enrichment server appends information from multiple matching profiles to the at least one contact when more than one matching profile is identified.

5. The contact enrichment system according to claim 4, wherein the contact enrichment server compares timestamp information from the multiple matching profiles and appends information from a matching profile having a most recent timestamp to the at least one contact.

6. The contact enrichment system according to claim 3, wherein the contact enrichment server identifies a matching profile when more than one data item of the subset of data items of the at least one contact is present in the matching profile.

7. The contact enrichment system according to claim 2, wherein the subset of data items includes at least one of a name, a phone number, an email address and a postal address.

8. The contact enrichment system according to claim 1, wherein the appended information includes at least one of a photo, a video, a phone number, an email address, a postal address, a message and a calendar event.

9. The contact enrichment system according to claim 8, wherein the contact enrichment server links the information appended to the at least one contact to corresponding information in the matching profile, the contact enrichment server storing a link between the information appended and the corresponding information in a link table, the contact enrichment server updating the information appended to the at least one contact using the link table when the corresponding information in the matching profile changes.

10. The contact enrichment system according to claim 9, wherein the mobile device issues an alert in response to the update of the appended information in the at least one contact, when the updated information is a message.

11. The contact enrichment system according to claim 10, wherein the alert is an audible sound, a visual cue displayed in conjunction with the at least one contact, or both.

12. The contact enrichment system according to claim 10, further comprising:

a client device connected to the network and configured to register, in the contact enrichment server, accounts stored in the social network server corresponding to the mobile device,

wherein the contact enrichment server searches profiles corresponding to the registered accounts.

13. The contact enrichment system according to claim 12, wherein the mobile device issues the alert when the message is directed to a registered account.

14. The contact enrichment system according to claim 13, wherein the client device is further configured to make the registered accounts publicly available.

15. A contact enrichment server comprising:

a communication interface configured to communicate via a network with at least one social network server, a client device and mobile device;

an electronic memory configured to store account registration information identifying accounts stored in the social network server in correspondence to the mobile device; and

a processor configured to

search the social network server using the account registration information to identify profiles matching at least one contact stored in the mobile device, and

append information from a matching profile to the at least one contact stored in the mobile device.

16. The contact enrichment server according to claim 15, wherein the processor identifies the matching profile by comparing a subset of data items included in the at least one contact with profiles associated with accounts identified by the account registration information.

17. The contact enrichment server according to claim 15, wherein the processor identifies the matching profile when at least one of the subset of data items in the at least one contact is present in the matching profile.

18. The contact enrichment server according to claim 17, wherein the processor links the information appended to the at least one contact to corresponding information in the matching profile, the processor storing a link between the information appended and the corresponding information in a link table in the electronic memory.

19. The contact enrichment server according to claim 18, wherein the processor updates the information appended to the at least one contact using the link table when the corresponding information in the matching profile changes.

20. The contact enrichment server according to claim 17, wherein the subset of data items include at least one of a name, a phone number, an email address and a postal address.

21. A contact enrichment method for enriching contacts stored in a mobile device, comprising:

registering, at a content enrichment server, at least one account corresponding to a social network server, the at least one account including a plurality of profiles stored on the social network server;

registering, at the content enrichment server, the mobile device in associating with the at least one account, the mobile device storing a plurality of contacts;

searching, at the content enrichment server, the at least one account to identify matching profiles matching at least one contact stored in the mobile device;

appending, at the contact enrichment server, information from matching profiles to the at least one contact; and

transmitting, from the contact enrichment server to the mobile device, the at least one contact appended with information from matching profiles.

22. The method according to claim 21, further comprising:

identifying, at the contact enrichment server, a matching profile using a subset of data items included in the at least one contact.

23. The method according to claim 21, further comprising:

linking, at the contact enrichment server, the information appended to the at least one contact with corresponding information in matching profiles; and

updating, at the contact enrichment server, the information appended to the at least one contact when the corresponding information in matching profiles changes.

24. The method according to claim 21, wherein the information appended to the at least one contact includes a message directed to the at least one account registered.

25. A contact enrichment server comprising:

means for communicating via a network with at least one social network server, a client device and mobile device;

means for storing account registration information identifying accounts stored in the social network server in correspondence to the mobile device; and

means for searching the social network server using the account registration information to identify profiles matching at least one contact stored in the mobile device, and

means for appending append information from a matching profile to the at least one contact stored in the mobile device.

26. A computer-readable medium storing computer-readable instructions thereon, the computer-readable instructions when executed by a computer cause the computer to perform the method comprising:

registering in a contact enrichment server at least one account corresponding to a social network server, the at least one account including a plurality of profiles stored on the social network server;

registering in the contact enrichment server a mobile device in associating with the at least one account, the mobile device storing a plurality of contacts;

searching the at least one account to identify matching profiles matching at least one contact stored in the mobile device;

appending information from matching profiles to the at least one contact; and

transmitting, from the contact enrichment server to the mobile device, the at least one contact appended with information from matching profiles.