SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR PREDICTIVE CACHING OF DIGITAL CONTENT

• US 20140189037A1
• Filed: 02/13/2013
• Published: 07/03/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dropbox, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Dropbox, Inc.
• Inventors: Stockwell, Will, Sydell, Alex, Grue, Tony
• Granted Patent: US 9,690,869 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/213
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9574 of access to content, e.g. by caching
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0237 using prediction or retrieval techniques

Abstract

A system for predictively caching digital content in which the system is configured to: (1) receive, from a user of a client device, a request to access at least one particular digital file stored on a remote server; (2) select at least one other digital file to cache locally on the client device based on at least one file-accessing tendency of the user; (3) download the at least one other digital file from the remote server to the client device; and (4) save the downloaded digital file to memory associated with the client device for later access by the user. A file-accessing tendency of the user may include the manner in which the user typically scrolls or otherwise cycles through images or other files. The system may determine the user'"'"'s file-accessing tendencies based on, for example, the user'"'"'s location, native language, past content-accessing practices, and/or specified user preferences.

Claims

1. A computer system comprising at least one processor, wherein the computer system is configured for:

receiving, from a user of a client device, a request to access at least one particular digital file stored on a remote server;

selecting at least one other digital file to cache locally on the client device based on at least one file-accessing tendency of the user;

downloading the at least one other digital file from the remote server to the client device; and

saving the downloaded digital file to memory associated with the client device for later access by the user.

2. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the receiving, selecting, downloading, and saving steps are executed by the client device.

3. The computer system of claim 2, wherein the client device is a mobile computing device.

4. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the receiving, selecting, downloading, and saving steps are executed by the remote server.

5. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the at least one file-accessing tendency of the user includes a manner in which the user typically cycles through files.

6. The computer system of claim 5, wherein the system is adapted to determine the at least one file-accessing tendency based on the location of the user.

7. The computer system of claim 5, wherein the system is adapted to determine the at least one file-accessing tendency based on the user'"'"'s native language.

8. The computer system of claim 5, wherein the system is adapted to determine the at least one file-accessing tendency based on the user'"'"'s past content-accessing practices.

9. The computer system of claim 5, wherein the system is adapted to determine the at least one file-accessing tendency based on at least one user preference received from the user.

10. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the at least one particular digital file includes a digital file that immediately follows the requested file in a sequence of files.

11. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the system is adapted to:

predict that the user will likely access the at least one other digital file after accessing the at least one particular digital file; and

download the at least one other digital file from the remote server to the client device in response to predicting that the user will likely access the at least one other digital file after accessing the at least one particular digital file.

12. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the system is adapted to predict that the user will likely access the at least one other digital file after accessing the at least one particular digital file based on:

the order in which the at least one particular digital file and the at least one other digital file are listed, and

the native language of the user.

13. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the remote server is associated with a synched content management system.

14. A computer-implemented method of predictively caching digital content, the method comprising:

receiving, by a processor, from a user of a client device, a request to access particular digital content stored on a remote server;

selecting, by a processor, other particular digital content stored on the remote server to cache locally based on at least one content-accessing tendency of the user;

downloading the other particular digital content from the remote server; and

saving the downloaded other particular digital content to memory associated with the client device for later access by the user.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the receiving, selecting, downloading, and saving steps are executed by one or more processors of the client device.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the at least one content-accessing tendency of the user includes a manner in which the user typically cycles through files.

17. The method of claim 16, further including determining the at least one content-accessing tendency based on one or more factors selected from a group consisting of:

the location of the user;

the user'"'"'s native language;

the user'"'"'s past content-accessing practices; and

at least one user preference received from the user.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the requested other particular digital content includes digital content that immediately follows the requested digital content in a predetermined sequence.

19. The method of claim 14, further including:

predicting that the user will likely access the other digital content after accessing the requested digital content; and

downloading the other digital content from the remote server in response to predicting that the user will likely access the other digital content after accessing the requested digital content.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein predicting that the user will likely access the other digital content after accessing the requested digital content is based on the order in which the requested digital content and the other digital content are listed, and the native language of the user.

21. The method of claim 14, wherein the remote server is associated with a synched content management system.

22. The method of claim 14, wherein:

the requested digital content comprises at least one image;

the content accessing tendency of the user is a tendency to cycle through images by gesturing from right to left on a touch screen associated with a mobile device; and

the other digital content includes at least one other image that is to the right of the at least one image in a sequence of images.

23. A computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions for:

receiving, from a user, a request to access particular digital content;

selecting other particular digital content to cache locally based on at least one content-accessing tendency of the user;

downloading the other particular digital content from a synched content management system; and

saving the downloaded other particular digital content to local memory for later access by the user.

24. The computer-readable medium of claim 23, further storing computer-executable instructions for determining the at least one content-accessing tendency based on one or more factors selected from a group consisting of:

the location of the user;

the user'"'"'s native language;

the user'"'"'s past content-accessing practices; and

at least one user preference received from the user.