Management of user profile data

• US 7,181,441 B2
• Filed: 02/28/2001
• Issued: 02/20/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/01/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sony Deutschland GmbH (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Deutschland GmbH (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Kovacs, Erno, Mandato, Davide
• Primary Examiner(s): Pannala; Sathyanarayan
• Application Number:
  US09/796,171
• Publication Number:
  US 20010025280A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,183 Days
• Field of Search: 707/104.1, 707 1- 3, 707/10, 705 1- 2, 705/14, 705/26, 709/217, 709/229
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/00 User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/066 Format adaptation, e.g. format conversion or compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/56 Unified messaging, e.g. interactions between e-mail, instant messaging or converged IP messaging [CPM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/4509 Unified messaging with single point of access to voicemail and other mail or messaging systems unified messaging in packet switching networks H04L51/56
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42068 where the identifier is used to access a profile
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4211 where the identifier is used to access a profile
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/42229 Personal communication services, i.e. services related to one subscriber independent of his terminal and/or location diverting calls from one subscriber to another subscriber, i.e. two different subscriptions H04M3/54; selecting arrangements in intelligent networks H04Q3/005
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/5307 for recording messages comprising any combination of audio and non-audio components
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

The invention generally related to the field of mobile multimedia middle-ware, computer networking, distributed processing systems, data bases, hand-held computers and wireless communication. A method for conveniently managing user profile information in an unified instant messaging system (7) is proposed. This method operates on a data base structure, which accommodates in a flexible way subscribers'"'"' information. More specifically, this method takes into account the mutable characteristics of the environment where subscribers'"'"' devices (9) are operating: subscribers can in fact freely modify their personal user profiles (1) as situations change and/or as they move to different geographical locations.

Claims

1. A computer implemented database for storing and managing user profile data representing sets of different terminal devices via which a user can be reached, in an information transmission network, wherein

the database comprises respectively for each user a plurality of pre-configured user profiles which can be created, edited and/or deleted by the user, and

each of the plurality of customizable user profiles are associated with a logical context of the user defining a particular situation of said user,

a user can activate only one of the plurality of user profiles at one time, the activated user profile indicating the terminal device or devices out of the set of terminal devices over which the user desires to be informed at the present logical context,

the user sends selection information to the user profile database in order to activate the terminal device or devices out of the set of terminal devices over which the user desires to be reached,

the database includes one presence token or a plurality of presence tokens for each user, each presence token representing the availability of a user at a predetermined terminal device,

the user profiles are implemented as sets of properties, and

each card has a property key identifying a given profile property and a property value corresponding to a given property content.

2. The computer implemented database according to claim 1, further comprising:

at least one default user profile for each user, wherein the default user profiles cannot be deleted by the user.

3. The computer implemented database according to claim 2, further comprising:

a hierarchical scheme of the user profiles is a tree, the default user profile being the root of the tree.

4. The computer implemented database according to claim 1, further comprising:

a priority information associated with each terminal device of a user profile.

5. The computer implemented database according to claim 1, wherein the database contains information on an access network, a network address and characteristics of each terminal device.

6. The computer implemented database according to claim 1, wherein a mnemonic is attributed with each terminal device.

7. The computer implemented database according to claim 1, wherein a unified name is attributed with each user.

8. The computer implemented database according to claim 1, wherein a user can directly inquire accounting information.

9. A method for directing information to a terminal device, the method comprising the following steps:

providing a computer implemented user profile database for storing user profile data representing sets of different terminal devices via which a user can be reached, in an information transmission network,

wherein the database comprises respectively for each user at least one customizable user profile which can be created, edited and/or deleted by the user, and

each customizable user profile is associated with a logical context of the user defining a particular situation of said user,

activating only one of the plurality of user profiles at one time, the activated user profile indicating the terminal device or devices, out of the set of terminal devices over which the user desires to be informed at the logical context, and

transmitting information from a sender to a terminal device comprised in the activated user profile,

wherein the user sends selection information to the user profile database in order to activate the terminal device or devices out of the set of terminal devices over which the user desires to be reached,

the database includes one presence token or a plurality of presence tokens for each user, each presence token representing the availability of a user at a predetermined terminal device,

the user profiles are implemented as sets of properties, and

each card has a property key identifying a given profile property and a property value corresponding to a given property content.

10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising:

at least one default user profile for each user is provided, wherein the default user profiles cannot be deleted by the user.

11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising:

a hierarchical scheme of the user profiles is a tree, the default user profile being the root of the tree.

12. The method according to claim 9, further comprising:

a priority information associated with each terminal device of a user profile.

13. The method according to claim 9, wherein the database contains information on an access network, a network address and characteristics of each terminal device.

14. The method according to claim 9, wherein a mnemonic is attributed with each terminal device.

15. The method according to claim 9, wherein a unified name is attributed with each user.

16. The method according to claim 9, wherein the database content is stored in cards in a distributed fashion.

17. The method according to claim 9, wherein a user can directly inquire accounting information.

18. A computer implemented database for storing and managing user profile data representing sets of different terminal devices via which a user can be reached, in an information transmission network, wherein

the database comprises respectively for each user a plurality of pre-configured user profiles which can be created, edited and/or deleted by the user, and

each of the plurality of customizable user profiles are associated with a logical context of the user defining a particular situation of said user,

a user can activate only one of the plurality of user profiles at one time, the activated user profile indicating the terminal device or devices out of the set of terminal devices over which the user desired to be informed at the present logical context,

the user sends selection information to the user profile database in order to activate the terminal device or devices out of the set of terminal devices over which the user desires to be reached,

the user profiles are implemented as sets of properties,

the database includes one presence token or a plurality of presence tokens for each user, each presence token representing the availability of a user at a predetermined terminal device,

each card has a property key identifying a given profile property and a property value corresponding to a given property content;

and

the selection information sent by the user to the user profile database represents a logical context.

19. A method for directing information to a terminal device, the method comprising the following steps:

providing a computer implemented user profile database for storing user profile data representing sets of different terminal devices via which a user can be reached, in an information transmission network,

wherein the database comprises respectively for each user at least one customizable user profile which can be created, edited and/or deleted by the user, and

each customizable user profile is associated with a logical context of the user defining a particular situation of said user,

activating only one of the plurality of user profiles at one time, the activated user profile indicating the terminal device or devices, out of the set of terminal devices over which the user desires to be informed at the logical context, and

transmitting information from a sender to a terminal device comprised in the activated user profile,

wherein the user sends selection information to the user profile database in order to activate the terminal device or devices out of the set of terminal devices over which the user desires to be reached,

the database includes one presence token or a plurality of presence tokens for each user, each presence token representing the availability of a user at a predetermined terminal device,

the user profiles are implemented as sets of properties,

each card has a property key identifying a given profile property and a property value corresponding to a given property content, and

the selection information sent by the user to the user profile database represents a logical context.