COLLABORATIVE SHARING OF CONTEXTUALLY SIMILAR CACHE DATA TO REDUCE NETWORK USAGE

• US 20140164472A1
• Filed: 12/10/2012
• Published: 06/12/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2012
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Lenovo Enterprise Solutions (Singapore) Pte., Ltd. (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Cudak, Gary D., Do, Lydia M., Hardee, Christopher J., Roberts, Adam
• Application Number:
  US13/709,304
• Publication Number:
  US 20140164472A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/202
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1078 Resource delivery mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/5682 Policies or rules for updating, deleting or replacing the stored data

Abstract

Wireless user devices can independently download and cache data from websites over a wireless communications network. In response to a request for data, a first user device may receive data directly from a second user device instead of receiving data over the communications network, if the data satisfies the request. Near field communications may be used for direct communication between user devices within range of the near field communication. Metadata describing the cached data may be stored in association with the cached data. Each user device may advertise its metadata and allow it to be searched by another user device that is requesting data. If the request can be satisfied with cached data stored by a selected user device, then the cached data is received directly from the selected user device, but the data is otherwise received over the communications network.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

a plurality of user devices independently downloading data from websites over a communications network in response to user-entered requests for data;

each of the plurality of user devices caching the data that the user device has downloaded over the communications network; and

a first one of the plurality of user devices, in response to a first user entering a request for data, receiving data directly from a second one of the plurality of user devices instead of receiving data over the communications network, wherein the data received from the second user device satisfies the request.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of user devices caching the data that the user device has downloaded over the communications network includes each of the plurality of user devices selectively caching the data that the user device has downloaded over the communications network.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the plurality of user devices selectively cache data that includes a single file having greater than a predetermined quantity of data.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

each of the plurality of user devices storing the cached data in association with metadata describing one or more characteristic of the cached data.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the one or more characteristic of the cached data is selected from context, keywords, source, timestamp, and combinations thereof.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

the first user device caching the data received directly from the second user device.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

a third one of the plurality of user devices, in response to a third user entering a request for data, automatically receiving data directly from the first user device instead of receiving data over the communications network, wherein the data received directly from the first user device satisfies the request and is the same data that the first user device previously received directly from the second user device.

8. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

advertising the metadata stored on each of the plurality of user devices to the rest of the plurality of user devices; and

the first user device searching the advertised metadata stored on each of the plurality of user devices to locate metadata indicating that the associated data would satisfy the request, wherein the data that the first user device receives directly from the second user device is identified by being associated with the located metadata.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the metadata is advertised using a near field communication signal to those user devices within range of the near field communication signal.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second user devices exchange data directly using near field communication.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the request for data includes entering a uniform resource locator into a web browser.

12. The method of claim 4, wherein the data is cached for a predetermined period of time.

13. The method of claim 4, wherein the data is cached for a predetermined period of time, wherein the predetermined period of time varies according to the type or source of the data.

14. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

advertising the metadata stored on each of the plurality of user devices to the rest of the plurality of user devices; and

the first user device searching the advertised metadata stored on each of the plurality of user devices to locate metadata indicating that the associated data is contextually similar to the requested data, wherein the data that the first user device automatically receives directly from the second user device is identified by being associated with the located metadata.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the data is contextually similar to the requested data when the metadata contains one or more keywords in the request.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the data is contextually similar to the requested data when the metadata indicates that the source provides data of the same type as the data requested.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying a prompt on the first user device allowing the first user to select whether to receive data directly from the second device or receive data from the communications network.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the prompt that is displayed on the first user device identifies the data that is available from the second device.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying, from among the plurality of user devices, multiple user devices having data that is contextually similar to the data requested;

displaying a prompt on the first user device allowing the first user to select a user device from among the multiple user devices, wherein the first user device receives data directly from the selected user device.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the prompt that is displayed on the first user device identifies the data that is available from each of the multiple user devices.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the prompt that is displayed on the first user device further identifies, for each of the multiple user devices, a device type, proximity, strength of signal, or combination thereof.

22. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

the first user device storing a list of data sources that, when identified in the metadata, make data unacceptable regardless of the data being contextually similar.

23. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving user input enabling the first user device to share cached data; and

increasing the amount of data cached by the first user device in response to enabling the first user device to share cached data.

24. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

a local server of an internet service provider communicating the downloading data from the websites to the plurality of user devices;

the local server caching the data that is being downloaded; and

a first one of the plurality of user devices, in response to a first user entering a request for data, receiving data directly from the local server instead of receiving data from the website, wherein the data received from the local server satisfies the request.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising:

identifying, from among the plurality of user devices and a local server, multiple sources having data that is contextually similar to the data requested;

displaying a prompt on the first user device allowing the first user to select a source from among the multiple sources, wherein the first user device receives data directly from the selected source.