Framework for providing a subscription based notification system

• US 7,698,276 B2
• Filed: 02/26/2003
• Issued: 04/13/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/26/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Knight, Holly, Pather, Shyamalan, Seshadri, Praveen, Mensa-Annan, Charles Tete, Garrett, Philip, Blanch, Robert F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Wong; Don
• Assistant Examiner(s): Le; Michael
• Application Number:
  US10/376,197
• Publication Number:
  US 20040068481A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,603 Days
• Field of Search: 707/10, 707/4, 707/1, 719/318
• US Class Current: 719/318
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9535 Search customisation based on user profiles and personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system and methodology to facilitate automated delivery of notifications according to various applications that can be employed with the framework of a notification platform. The applications are described by models that enable users to easily/conveniently interact with the notification platform. The application models can be incorporated within and/or associated with the notification platform. Moreover, the models can be employed to enhance subscription experiences for users, whereby users can easily and economically subscribe and unsubscribe to one or more notification services. In addition, subscriptions can be dynamically adjusted based upon explicit commands from the user, inferred from contextual user states, and/or based upon incentives or other factors directed to the user.

Claims

1. A computer storage medium comprising the following components implementing a notification platform:

a database engine component that processes received events and subscription information, the database engine component modeling the events and subscriptions as data prior to processing so as to facilitate event and subscription processing;

a notification platform component that delivers notifications to one or more notification sinks associated with subscribers in accordance with the processed events and subscription information, and wherein the notification platform component comprises at least one SQL server that processes data from a plurality of event sources and performs join operations to distribute notifications to the at least one notification sink;

a context analyzer component that analyzes information regarding variables and parameters of a user, wherein the notification platform component distributes notifications based on the variables and parameters stored by the context analyzer component, and wherein the parameters comprise contextual information discerned based on observations made autonomously via one or more sensors and statistical models, observations dynamically inferred via automated inference, a user'"'"'s state specified in real-time and default notification preference parameters, wherein the notification platform component performs a decision-theoretic analysis for pending notifications to determine whether to convey the pending notifications and a manner of conveying the pending notifications, by accessing variables and parameters stored in the context analyzer that indicate user preference;

an application model component comprising at least a subscription component that facilitates subscribing and unsubscribing to at least one source generating the notifications based at least on the user contextual information within the context analyzer component; and

a billing component that credits the user'"'"'s account during periods in which the user'"'"'s information in the context analyzer component does not permit reception of the generated notifications.

2. The medium of claim 1, the application model component includes at least one of a brokering model, a dynamic pricing model, a subscription access model, a push model, a pull model, or a device model.

3. The medium of claim 1, the application model component includes a brokering model, the brokering model receives notification specifications from users and determines notification services to satisfy the specifications.

4. The medium of claim 3, the brokering model includes at least one of a notification brokering component and a subscription brokering component.

5. The medium of claim 4, the brokering model generates at least one of a service bundle and a notification bundle that is employed by a notification platform component to deliver notifications to a user.

6. The medium of claim 3, the brokering model receives the notification specifications via at least one of a query or an unsolicited request.

7. The medium of claim 1, the application model component includes a dynamic pricing model, the dynamic pricing model includes at least one of a group component, a volume component, a time-based component, a location-based component, or an association based component to facilitate price adjustments within a notification architecture.

8. The medium of claim 7, the dynamic pricing model is associated with at least one of a user profile, an attribute associated with the user profile, and a performance component to determine the price adjustments.

9. The medium of claim 1, the application model component includes a subscription access model, the subscription access model includes at least one of a subscription switch, a short term control, an intermittent control, a trial subscription control, or a conversion control to facilitate subscription adjustments.

10. The medium of claim 1, the application model component includes a pull model, the pull model is associated with a user'"'"'s request to receive notifications that are not in accordance with the user'"'"'s current subscriptions.

11. The medium of claim 1, the application model component includes a push model, the push model is driven by incentives offered to a user.

12. The medium of claim 11, the push model further comprises controls to disable information from being pushed to the user.

13. The medium of claim 1, a context model component employed to adjust a subscription associated with at least one notification service.

14. The medium of claim 13, the context model component includes at least one of a context source, a context characterization component, a context consumer, a component to obtain context, a context propagation component, or a component to expose context.

15. The medium of claim 1, the application model component includes a device model, the device model includes at least one of a receive component, a capabilities component, a filter component, a delivery conditions component, and a device conditions component to facilitate interactions with a notification platform or at least one subscription.

16. The medium of claim 1, the application model component includes a billing model, the billing model includes at least one of a subscription platform service and a processing engine to facilitate automated billing in accordance with a notification platform.

17. The medium of claim 16, the billing model includes a processing engine, the processing engine includes at least one of a balance impact engine, a qualification engine, and a provision engine to manage accounts associated with at least one notification service.

18. The medium of claim 16, the billing model further comprising at least one of a subscription store, a resource balance store, a billing impact store, a product catalog, or a rated event store.

19. A notification system comprising:

means for storing subscriptions data;

means for generating notifications from events and the subscriptions data; and

means for delivering notifications to subscribers in accordance with at least one application component;

means for analyzing information regarding variables and parameters of a user, wherein the means for delivering notifications distributes notifications based on the variables and parameters stored by the means for analyzing information, and wherein the parameters comprise contextual information discerned based on observations made autonomously via one or more sensors and statistical models, observations dynamically inferred via automated inference, a user'"'"'s state specified in real-time and default notification preference parameters, wherein analyzing the information involves performing a decision-theoretic analysis for pending notifications to determine whether to convey the pending notifications and in what manner to convey the pending notifications, by accessing variables and parameters that indicate user preference; and

means for subscribing and unsubscribing to at least one source generating the notifications based at least on the user information within the analyzing means; and

means for billing that credits the user'"'"'s account during periods in which the user'"'"'s information in the analyzing means does not permit reception of the generated notifications.

20. The system of claim 19, the application component further comprises at least one of a broker component, a price component, a subscription control component, a push component, a pull component, a context component, a device configuration component, and a billing component.

21. A computer implemented notification method, comprising the following computer executable acts:

defining by a computer processor, at least one application model;

interfacing the application model with a notification platform, the notification platform comprises at least one SQL server stored on a computer readable storage medium that processes data from a plurality of event sources and performs join operations to distribute notifications to at least one notification sink;

analyzing by the computer processor, information regarding variables and parameters of a user via a context analyzer executed wherein the notification platform component distributes notifications based on the variables and parameters stored by the context analyzer, and wherein the parameters comprise contextual information discerned based on observations made autonomously via one or more sensors and statistical models, observations dynamically inferred via automated inference, a user'"'"'s state specified in real-time and default notification preference parameters;

performing by the computer processor, a decision-theoretic analysis for pending notifications to determine whether to convey the pending notifications and in what manner to convey the pending notifications, by accessing variables and parameters stored in the context analyzer executed the variables and parameters indicate user preference;

subscribing and unsubscribing to at least one source generating the notifications based at least on the user information within the context analyzer executed by the computer processor; and

crediting by the computer processor the user'"'"'s account during periods in which the user'"'"'s information in the context analyzer does not permit reception of the generated notifications.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising defining a user profile that adjusts a performance of the notification platform.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising adjusting the user profiles to at least one of a device and system capabilities.

24. The method of claim 21, further comprising receiving notification specifications via at least one of a query and an unsolicited request, and further comprising packaging notification services based upon the specifications.

25. The method of claim 21, the notification service offering a discount based on at least one of a group component, a volume component, a time-based component, a location-based component, a context-based component, a usage-based component, and an association based component.

26. The method of claim 21, further comprising adjusting a subscription based at least on one of a subscription switch, a short term control, an intermittent control, a trial subscription control, and a conversion control.

27. The method of claim 21, further comprising at least one of pushing information to a user based on incentive and pushing information to a user based upon a user control.

28. The method of claim 21, further comprising employing context to adjust a subscription.

29. The method of claim 21, further comprising associating the notification platform with an automated billing system.

30. A notification system comprising:

a computer storage medium having stored thereon a database engine component that processes received events and subscription information, the database engine component modeling the events and subscriptions as data prior to processing so as to facilitate event and subscription processing; and

one or more computer processors executing the following components stored on the computer storage medium;

a notification platform component that delivers notifications to one or more notification sinks associated with subscribers in accordance with the processed events and subscription information, and wherein the notification platform component comprises at least one SQL server that processes data from a plurality of event sources and performs join operations to distribute notifications to the at least one notification sink;

a context analyzer component that analyzes information regarding variables and parameters of a user, wherein the notification platform component distributes notifications based on the variables and parameters stored by the context analyzer component, and wherein the parameters comprise contextual information discerned based on observations made autonomously via one or more sensors and statistical models, observations dynamically inferred via automated inference, a user'"'"'s state specified in real-time and default notification preference parameters, wherein the notification platform component performs a decision-theoretic analysis for pending notifications to determine whether to convey the pending notifications and a manner of conveying the pending notifications, by accessing variables and parameters stored in the context analyzer that indicate user preference;

an application model component comprising at least a subscription component that facilitates subscribing and unsubscribing to at least one source generating the notifications based at least on the user contextual information within the context analyzer component; and

a billing component that credits the user'"'"'s account during periods in which the user'"'"'s information in the context analyzer component does not permit reception of the generated notifications.