Method, apparatus and system for providing a server agent for a mobile device

• US 7,356,572 B2
• Filed: 10/19/2004
• Issued: 04/08/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/10/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Snap, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Yahoo! Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Zhou, Min, Cui, Yingqing Lawrence, Jiang, Zhaowei Charlie
• Primary Examiner(s): Cardone; Jason
• Assistant Examiner(s): Gillis; Brian J
• Application Number:
  US10/969,404
• Publication Number:
  US 20050102351A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,267 Days
• Field of Search: 709/217, 709/219, 709/232, 709/246, 714/4
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/00 Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor

Abstract

The invention enables one or more agents to gather information from at least one server on a network and automatically provide this information to an inbox on a server and then providing it to an inbox on a mobile device if a wireless connection to the mobile device is available. A server agent facility provides for preprocessing requests for information from the mobile device, including, collecting the information out of band, filtering the collected information, and packaging the information for delivery in a format suitable for the mobile device. A server agent within the server agent facility may actively collect the information based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to, time, event(s), user profile, mobile device profile, request(s), alert(s), and historical behavior.

Claims

1. A method for providing information to a mobile device over a network comprising:

receiving a request for information;

employing at least one module in a server agent facility residing on a server to collect information;

performing a query for non-advertising information related to the request, wherein the non-advertising information does not constitute a response to the request;

employing at least another module in the server agent facility to package the collected information, including the non-advertising information; and

at the server, if the mobile device is inaccessible, waiting until the mobile device is accessible, then absent another request from the mobile device performing a refresh on the information by re-collecting the information and performing another query for the non-advertising information, and then sending the information and the non-advertising information to the mobile device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising

sending the collected information to a temporary inbox associated with the server;

and

employing a delivery agent to monitor if the mobile device is accessible, including whether a bandwidth to the mobile device is above a threshold.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein packaging the collected information further comprises performing at least one of a normalization of the information, a compression, and an encryption of the information.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein normalization of the information further comprises modifying a format of the information.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein employing at least one module in the server agent facility to collect information further comprises employing at least one of a proactive fetch and a third party collection component.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the information to the mobile device further comprises determining if the information is to be retrieved by the mobile device, and if it is to be retrieved by the mobile device, providing a notification to the mobile device that the information is available.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the information further comprises determining if a wireless connection between the server and the mobile device includes a sufficient bandwidth for the information.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one module, the at least one other module, and the third module in the server agent facility each are enabled to execute on a server remote from the mobile device.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the request further comprises receiving an audio request by a telephone call from a device other than the mobile device and parsing the audio request using speech recognition.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the non-advertising information includes information associated with at least one of directions in a particular city, weather information for a particular city, or a transportation option, the non-advertising information not constituting a response to the request.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the non-advertising information further comprises forwarding looking predictive information that is based on the request but does not constitute a response to the request.

12. A method for providing information to a mobile device, comprising:

selecting an agent from one or more agents on a server;

processing a request from the mobile device by the selected agent;

collecting information by a collection module;

performing a query for non-advertising information related to the request, wherein the non-advertising information does not constitute a response to the request;

packaging the information, including the non-advertising information, into a format suitable for the mobile device by a packaging module; and

at the server, if the mobile device is inaccessible, waiting until the mobile device is accessible, then absent another request from the mobile device performing a refresh on the information including at least one of re-collecting the information, and performing another query for the non-advertising information, and then providing the refreshed information including the non-advertising information to the mobile device.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein performing a refresh further comprises determining which information if any is out of date.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

editing the information by an editor agent, the editor agent being further included in the server agent facility.

15. The method of claim 12, performing a query for non-advertising information further comprises:

monitoring the request by a forward looking agent, the forward looking agent being distinct from the agent processing the request; and

retrieving a user profile associated the mobile device originating the request.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein packaging the information further comprises at least one of normalizing the information, compressing the information, and encrypting the information.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein collecting the information further comprises employing at least one of a proactive fetch component for collecting information from directly accessible sources, and a third party collection component for collecting information from at least one proprietary source, the proactive fetch component and the third party collection component being included in the server agent facility.

18. A method for providing information to a mobile device comprising:

processing a request by an alarm agent on a server;

determining if an alarm condition is present by querying a collection module, and if the alarm condition is present, packaging the information including a notification of the presence of the alarm condition in a format suitable for the mobile device using a packaging module;

performing a query for non-advertising information related to the request, wherein the non-advertising information does not constitute a response to the request; and

at the server, if the mobile device is inaccessible, waiting until the mobile device is accessible, then absent another request from the mobile device performing a refresh on the information including at least one of re-collecting the information and performing another query for non-advertising information, and providing the refreshed information including the non-advertising information to the mobile device.

19. A server for providing information to a mobile device over a network, comprising:

a transceiver for receiving and sending information to the mobile device; and

a server agent facility, coupled to the transceiver, that comprises;

a packaging module configured to prepare information for delivery to the mobile device; and

an agent module configured to enable a determination of information based on a request for information for delivery to the packaging module, the agent module being further configured to perform a query for additional information, the additional information being non-advertising information related to the request and not constituting a response to the request; and

an interface module configured to provide information to the mobile device in at least one of a push and a retrieve mode, wherein if the mobile device is inaccessible or a bandwidth to the mobile device is below a threshold, then waiting until the mobile device is accessible and the bandwidth is at or above the threshold, then absent another request from the mobile device performing at the server a refresh on the information including re-collecting the information, and performing another query for the non-advertising information, and providing the refreshed information including the refreshed non-advertising information to the mobile device.

20. The server of claim 19, wherein the server agent facility further comprises a push component and a retrieve component.

21. The server of claim 19, wherein the packaging module further comprises at least one of a normalize component, a compress component, and an encryption component.

22. The server of claim 21, wherein the normalize component is configured to modify a format of the information.

23. The server of claim 19, wherein the agent module further comprises at least one of an editor, a search component, an alert component, and a forward component.

24. The server of claim 23, wherein the forward component is configured to monitor the request for information and to determine the non-advertising information based, in part, on the request and at least one of a time, an event, a user profile, a mobile device profile, statistical data, historical data, and behavior data.

25. The server of claim 19, wherein the collection module further comprises at least one of a proactive fetch module and a third party collection module.

26. The server of claim 19, wherein the collection module is further configured to collect information employing at least one process out of band to a request for information.

27. A computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions, the computer-executable instructions when installed onto a computer processor enables the computer processor to perform actions comprising:

enabling a packaging module in a server agent facility residing on a server to prepare information for delivery to a mobile device;

enabling an agent module in the server agent facility to determine information for delivery to the packaging module, and to perform a query for non-advertising information related to a request but not constituting a response to the request;

enabling a collection module in the server agent facility to receive the request for information from the agent module and to collect information for delivery to the agent module; and

enabling an interface module in the server agent facility on the server to provide information to the mobile device, wherein if the mobile device is inaccessible or a bandwidth to the mobile device is below a threshold, then waiting until the mobile device is accessible and the bandwidth is at or above the threshold, then absent another request from the mobile device requesting a refresh on the information including a re-collection of the information, and the non-advertising information that does not constitute a response to the request, and providing the refreshed information including the refreshed non-advertising information to the mobile device.

28. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 27, wherein the agent module is further enabled to perform at least one of an edit, a search, an alert, and a forward look for additional information, based, in part, on a request for information.

29. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 27, wherein the packaging module is further enabled to perform at least one of a normalization, a compression, and an encryption of the information.

30. An apparatus for communicating information over a network, comprising:

a transceiver for receiving and sending information to a mobile device;

a packaging means for preparing information for delivery;

an agent means for determining information for delivery to the packaging means, the information including non-advertising information related to a request, wherein the non-advertising information does not constitute a response to the request; and

a collection means for receiving the request for information from the agent means and for collecting information for delivery to the agent means; and

an interfacing means for providing information to a mobile device wherein if the mobile device is inaccessible or a bandwidth to the mobile device is below a threshold, then a means for waiting by the apparatus until the mobile device is accessible and the bandwidth is at or above the threshold, and then absent another request from the mobile device a means for requesting a refresh on the information including a re-collection of the information, and the non-advertising information that does not constitute a response to the request, and means for providing the refreshed information including the refreshed non-advertising information to the mobile device.

31. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the interfacing means, the packaging means, the agent means, and the collection means are included in a server agent facility.