Message Push Notification Client Improvements For Multi-User Devices

• US 20120173610A1
• Filed: 04/05/2011
• Published: 07/05/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/05/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Vaughan, Gregory Bjorn, Bleau, Darryl Neil, Davey, Jeffrey Thomas
• Granted Patent: US 8,924,489 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4625 Single bridge functionality, e.g. connection of two networks over a single bridge
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services

Abstract

Methods and apparatuses that generate a subtopic identifier identifying a client application within a client device that can support multiple users are described. The client application may be associated with a server application hosted in one or more application servers. Notification services may be registered with the application servers from the client application to forward identifiers associated with the client application for one of the multiple users to the server application to enable the server application to push notification messages to the client device selectively for the client application for that user. When receiving a notification message from the application server, the notification message may be examined to forward the notification message directly to the client application for that user without invoking other applications in the client device if the notification message carries a subtopic identifier of the client application.

Claims

1. A machine implemented method for multi-user message notification, the method comprising:

generating an alias that identifies a corresponding user account that is one of a plurality of user accounts within a client device, wherein the alias is used in combination with a subtopic identifier corresponding to a client application associated with a server application hosted in one or more application servers;

registering notification service with the application servers for the client application and the alias to forward identifiers associated with the client application to the server application to enable the server application to push notification messages to the corresponding user account of the client device for the client application;

in response to receiving a notification message from the application servers, determining if the notification message carries the alias and the subtopic identifier of the client application; and

forwarding the notification message to the client application for the corresponding user account without forwarding the notification message to other applications in the client device if the notification message carries the identifier for the client application.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein a plurality of client applications are hosted in the client device and wherein the subtopic identifier uniquely identifying the client application among the plurality of client applications.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the identifiers include the subtopic identifier.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein an alias is derived from a certificate associated with the corresponding user account.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the alias is stored in a user token that further includes a device identifier of the client device.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the identifiers include a user token uniquely identifying the corresponding user account.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein the application servers are uniquely identified by a topic identifier and wherein the registration further comprising:

registering the client application for the topic identifier to listen to notifications from the application servers, wherein more than one of the client applications are registered for the topic identifier.

8. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

initiating a network connection with the application servers; and

sending the identifiers over the network connection to the application servers.

9. The method of claim 5, wherein the determination comprises:

extracting the alias and the topic identifier from the notification message; and

forwarding the notification message to each client application and corresponding user registered for the topic

string if the notification message does not carry the subtopic identifier.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the forwarding comprises invoking the client application if the client application is not currently active.

11. A machine implemented method for providing message notification, the method comprising:

receiving, at a server application hosted in an application server, a registration request from a client application for a user of a client device for the message notification, the request having identifiers including a user token identifying the client device and a client application identifier identifying the client application, wherein the client device is capable of hosting multiple user accounts and including a corresponding user account for the user;

sending a server identifier for the user to allow the client device to listen to messages pushed from the application server;

storing the received identifiers to register the user for the message notification; and

sending notification messages to the client device via the user token to notify the client application for that user, the notification messages identified by the server identifier and the notification messages embedding the client application identifier.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the user token includes an alias identifying the user and a device identifier that identifies the client device.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the registration request is received over a network connection initiated by the client device, and wherein the server identifier is sent over the network connection.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the user token is stored associated with an opaque data including the client application identifier.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the notification messages include the user token to identify the user of the client device and wherein the opaque data is carried in payloads of the notification messages.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the sending comprises:

establish a network connection with a push server in a push service; and

sending the notification messages over the network connection to the push server, wherein the notification messages are packaged with the server identifier.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the server identifier is received in a certificate from an authority of the push service, and wherein the server identifier uniquely identifies the application server sharing the push service.

18. A machine-readable non-transitory medium having instructions, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform a method for message notification, the method comprising:

generating an alias that identifies a corresponding user account that is one of a plurality of user accounts on a client device, wherein the alias is used in combination with a subtopic identifier corresponding to a client application associated with a server application hosted in one or more application servers;

registering notification service with the application servers for the client application and the alias to forward identifiers associated with the client application to the server application to enable the server application to push notification messages to the corresponding user account of the client device for the client application;

in response to receiving a notification message from the application servers, determining if the notification message carries the alias and the subtopic identifier of the client application; and

forwarding the notification message to the client application for the corresponding user account without forwarding the notification message to other applications in the client device if the notification message carries the identifier for the client application.

19. A machine-readable non-transitory medium having instructions, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform a method for providing message notification, the method comprising:

receiving, at a server application hosted in an application server, a registration request from a client application for a user of a client device for the message notification, the request having identifiers including a user token identifying the user and the client device and a client application identifier identifying the client application, wherein the client device is capable of hosting multiple user accounts and including a corresponding user account for the user;

sending a server identifier for the user to allow the client device to listen to messages pushed from the application server;

storing the received identifiers to register the user for the message notification; and

sending notification messages to the client device via the user token to notify the client application for that user, the notification messages identified by the server identifier and the notification messages embedding the client application identifier.

20. An apparatus, comprising:

a memory storing executable instructions including a server application;

a network interface coupled to a push network;

a processor coupled to the network interface and the memory to execute the executable instructions from the memory for the messaging services, the processor being configured to;

in response to an initiation from a client device, establishing a first network connection with the client device via the network interface,

receiving, at the server application, a registration request from the client application of a client device over the first network connection, the request having identifiers including a user token identifying a user of the client device and a client application identifier identifying the client application,

sending a server identifier for the client device to allow the client device to listen to messages pushed from the application server,

storing the received identifiers to register the user for the message notification,

sending notification messages to the client device over a second network connection to the push network via the network interface, the notification messages having the user token to notify the client application for the user, the notification messages identified by the server identifier and the notification messages embedding the client application identifier.