System and method for precaching information on a mobile device

• US 8,364,611 B2
• Filed: 08/13/2009
• Issued: 01/29/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/13/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: R2 Solutions LLC (Acacia Research Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Yahoo! Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Tendjoukian, Meher, Davis, Marc Eliot, Higgins, Christopher William
• Primary Examiner(s): Chaki, Kakali
• Assistant Examiner(s): Gonzales, Vincent
• Application Number:
  US12/540,588
• Publication Number:
  US 20110040718A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,265 Days
• Field of Search: 706/62, 706/12
• US Class Current: 706/12
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0813 with a network or matrix configuration
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/1024 Latency reduction
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/6024 History based prefetching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/30 Profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/303 Terminal profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/5681 Pre-fetching or pre-delivering data based on network characteristics
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

A system and method for precaching information on a mobile device. A precaching strategy is built for a mobile device The strategy defines a forecast of data types a user is predicted to request after the occurrence of one or more data refresh conditions. The precaching strategy is built by recognizing data usage patterns in data requested by the user or a group of users over a time period. The data usage pattern comprises data types and events that are correlated to the usage of the data. The events are used to define at least one refresh condition within the precaching strategy. The precaching strategy is executed. When the occurrence of the data refresh condition is detected, data is then retrieved from a data source, wherein the data is retrieved according to the precaching strategy. The retrieved data is transmitted to a user device cache.

Claims

1. A method comprising the steps of:

building a precaching strategy, using a computing device, for a mobile device,

such that the precaching strategy defines a forecast of a data type a user is predicted to request after the occurrence of a data refresh condition,

such that the precaching strategy is built by recognizing, using the computing device, a data usage pattern in data requested by the user using the mobile device over a time period, wherein the data usage pattern comprises the data type and an event that is correlated to the usage of the data, wherein the event is used to define the refresh condition within the precaching strategy,

the data type being one of;

spatial data, temporal data, social data or topical data and the event being one of;

a spatial event, a temporal event, a social event or a topical event, the event further being an event external to the computing device and the mobile device;

executing the precaching strategy, using the computing device;

detecting, using the computing device, that the data refresh condition has occurred;

retrieving data, over a network, from a data source, such that the retrieved data is retrieved according to the precaching strategy;

transmitting the retrieved data, over the network, to a mobile device cache accessible to an application program running on the mobile device.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the data type is determined empirically by recognizing data usage patterns within data usage data.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the data type is determined by a user type of the user.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the user type is defined by the user.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein user type is assigned, using the computing device, to the user by identifying a pattern of data types and usage frequencies and correlating such patterns to the user type.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the data type comprises a hierarchy of a plurality of data types and subtypes, wherein the plurality of data types and subtypes are organized in a plurality of levels.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein spatial, temporal, social and topical patterns of data usage and correlated events are recognized, using the computing device, and used to build strategies at every level of the plurality of levels of the data hierarchy.

8. A method comprising the steps of:

building a precaching strategy, using a computing device, for a mobile device,

such that the precaching strategy defines a forecast of a data type a user is predicted to request after the occurrence of a data refresh condition,

such that the precaching strategy is built by recognizing, using the computing device, a data usage pattern in data requested by a plurality of users over a time period, such that the data usage pattern comprises the data type and an event that is correlated to the usage of the data, wherein the event is used to define the data refresh condition within the precaching strategy,

the data type being one of;

spatial data, temporal data, social data or topical data and the event being one of;

a spatial event, a temporal event, a social event or a topical event, the event further being an event external to the computing device and the mobile device;

executing the precaching strategy, using the computing device;

detecting, using the computing device, that the data refresh condition has occurred;

retrieving data, over a network, from a data source, such that the retrieved data is retrieved according to the precaching strategy;

transmitting the retrieved data, over the network, to a mobile device cache accessible to an application program running on the mobile device.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the plurality of users are selected from the user'"'"'s social network.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein the data type in the data usage pattern is used to select a predefined precaching strategy for the data type.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the predefined precaching strategy for the data type was determined by recognizing, using the computing device, a data usage pattern in data requested by a second plurality of users, wherein the data usage pattern comprises the data type.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein the data type in the data usage pattern is used to select a predefined precaching strategy for a data type which represents a generic data type that encompasses the data type.

13. A system comprising:

a processor;

a storage medium for tangibly storing thereon program logic for execution by the processor, the program logic comprising;

logic executed by the processor for building a precaching strategy for a mobile device, such that the precaching strategy defines a forecast of a data type a user is predicted to request after the occurrence of a data refresh condition,

such that the precaching strategy is built by recognizing a data usage pattern in data requested by a plurality of users over a time period, such that the data usage pattern comprises the data type and an event that is correlated to the usage of the data, wherein the event is used to define the data refresh condition within the precaching strategy,

the data type being one of;

spatial data, temporal data, social data or topical data and the event being one of;

a spatial event, a temporal event, a social event or a topical event, the event further being an event external to the computing device and the system;

logic executed by the processor for executing the precaching strategy;

logic executed by the processor for detecting that the data refresh condition has occurred;

logic executed by the processor for retrieving data, over a network, such that the retrieved data is retrieved according to the precaching strategy;

logic executed by the processor for transmitting the retrieved data, over the network, to a mobile device cache accessible to an application program running on the mobile device.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the plurality of users are selected from the user'"'"'s social network.

15. The system of claim 13 wherein the data type in the usage patterns is used to select a predefined precaching strategy for the data type.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein the predefined precaching strategy for the data type was determined by the precaching strategy creation module by recognizing data usage pattern in data requested by a second plurality of users, wherein the data usage pattern comprises the data type.

17. The system of claim 15 wherein the data type in the data usage pattern is used to select a predefined precaching strategy for a data type which represents a generic data type that encompasses the data type.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for a method comprising the steps of:

building a precaching strategy for a mobile device,

such that the precaching strategy defines a forecast of a data type a user is predicted to request after the occurrence of a data refresh condition,

such that the precaching strategy is built by recognizing a data usage pattern in data requested by a plurality of users over a time period, such that the data usage pattern comprises the data type and an event that is correlated to the usage of the data, wherein the event is used to define the data refresh condition within the precaching strategy,

the data type being one of;

spatial data, temporal data, social data or topical data and the event being one of;

a spatial event, a temporal event, a social event or a topical event, the event further being an event external to the mobile device;

executing the precaching strategy;

detecting that the data refresh condition has occurred;

retrieving data, over a network, from data source, such that the retrieved data is retrieved according to the precaching strategy;

transmitting the retrieved data, over the network, to a mobile device cache accessible to an application program running on the mobile device.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18 wherein the plurality of users are selected from the user'"'"'s social network.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18 wherein the data type in the data usage pattern is used to select a predefined precaching strategy for the data type.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 20 wherein the predefined precaching strategy for the data type was determined by recognizing a data usage pattern in data requested by a second plurality of users, wherein the data usage pattern comprises the data type.

22. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 20 wherein the data type in the data usage pattern is used to select a predefined precaching strategy for a data type which represents a generic data type that encompasses the data type.