SMART ADDRESS BOOK

• US 20120117036A1
• Filed: 12/08/2010
• Published: 05/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Comcast Interactive Media LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Comcast Interactive Media LLC (Comcast Corporation)
• Inventors: Lester, Peter, Miller, Justin, Lee, Hendrick, Sharma, Aseem, Dixon, Amber, Gattis, Galen Trevor, Nguyen, Huy Tuan, McGowan, Derek
• Granted Patent: US 10,545,946 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/692
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2365 Ensuring data consistency and integrity
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/27 Replication, distribution or synchronisation of data between databases or within a distributed database system; Distributed database system architectures therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting

Abstract

An apparatus, method, system, and computer-readable medium are provided for maintaining contact information associated with a contact. In some embodiments a request associated with a contact may be received. Contact information may be obtained from one or more external or internal sources. One or more confidence scores may be generated for the obtained contact information and for one or more values received with the request. Based on the confidence score(s), one or more values associated with the contact may be incorporated in one or more data stores. In some embodiments, suggestions for contact related information may be generated. Responses to the suggestions may be used to update the generated confidence score(s).

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining a first confidence score for at least one field of contact information in a first entry;

determining a second confidence score for at least one field of contact information in a second entry; and

de-duping, at a device, at least one of the at least one field of contact information in the first entry and the at least one field of contact information in the second entry based at least in part on the first and second confidence scores.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

de-duping at least one of the first entry and the second entry.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the de-duping comprises at least one of deleting and combining information.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the de-duping comprises at least one of:

examining a time stamp associated with the at least one field of contact information in the first entry and a time stamp associated with the at least one field of contact information in the second entry, and

determining for a first source associated with the first entry and a second source associated with the second entry a level of trust based at least in part on whether suggestions for one or more fields of contact information provided by the first and second sources have been accepted during prior use.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the device comprises at least one of a server, a user equipment device, and a common data store.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first entry and the second entry is associated with an address book.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one field of contact information in the second entry corresponds to a subtype of a type associated with the at least one field of contact information in the first entry.

8. A method comprising:

determining that at least one field of contact information associated with an entry has an associated confidence score that exceeds a threshold value; and

updating, at a device, the at least one field of contact information responsive to said determining.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

generating a notification that the at least one field of contact information has an associated confidence score that exceeds the threshold value; and

receiving a response to the notification,

wherein the updating is based at least in part on the received response.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the response is a passive response received after the expiration of a predetermined time-out.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

providing at least one suggested value for the at least one field of contact information,

wherein the updating is based at least in part on the at least one suggested value.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the providing of the at least one suggested value is based at least in part on a privacy setting allowing the value to be provided as a suggestion.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

determining that a second confidence score associated with the at least one suggested value exceeds a second threshold,

wherein the providing of the at least one suggested value is based at least in part on determining that the second confidence score exceeds the second threshold.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

determining that the at least one suggested value appears in at least one of an internal source and a plurality of external sources, and

wherein the providing of the at least one suggested value is based at least in part on determining that the at least one suggested value appears in the at least one of an internal source and a plurality of external sources.

15. An apparatus comprising:

at least one processor; and

memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to;

determine that at least one field of contact information associated with an individual contact entry has an associated confidence score that exceeds a threshold value; and

update the at least one field of contact information responsive to said determining.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to:

determine that a user engages in a communication with a contact associated with the at least one field of contact information,

wherein the determination that the at least one field of contact information has an associated confidence score that exceeds a threshold value is responsive to the determination that the user engages in the communication with the contact.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to:

determine that a value associated with the at least one field of contact information is at least one of modified in, deleted from, and added to an external source,

wherein the confidence score is based at least in part on a confidence associated with the value.

18. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to:

provide a suggested value for the at least one field of contact information based at least in part on at least one rule specified by at least one of a user, a service provider, and a content provider,

wherein the updating of the at least one field of contact information is based at least in part on the suggested value.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to:

receive a response to the provided suggested value; and

generate at least one of a second suggested value and a second at least one rule based at least in part on the received response.

20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to:

determine that a privacy setting allows the suggested value to be provided as a suggestion,

wherein the providing of the suggested value is based at least in part on the determination that the privacy setting allows the suggested value to be provided as a suggestion.